fciiiiis t:er  .Te;?.!  books ’ 

mediate  pepartmeiit. 


of ,  'Relifpoos 


BS  2435  .86  1923 
Squires,  Walter  Albion. 

New  Testament  followers  of 
Jesus 


V 


I 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/detaiis/newtestamentfoiiOOsqui 


oc‘i  ai  19^ 

felCAl 


New  Testam 
Followers  of  Jesus 


Intermediate  Department,  Second  Year,  Part  I 

By 

WALTER  ALBION  SQUIRES,  B.D. 


V' 


The  Westminster  Textbooks  of  Religious  Education 
for  Church  Schools  Having  Sunday,  Week 
Day,  and  Expressional  Sessions 

Edited  by  JOHN  T.  PARIS,  D.D. 


Philadelphia 
The  Westminster  Press 
1923 


Copyright,  1923 
By  F.  M.  BRASELMAN 


# 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


Preface 

GENERAL  PLAN  OF  THE  WESTMINSTER  TEXT¬ 
BOOKS  OF  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION 

The  Westminster  Textbooks  of  Religious  Education 
aim  to  unify  the  educational  program  of  the  individual 
church  by  furnishing  a  graded  course  of  study  suitable 
for  Sunday-school  classes,  week-day  church-school 
classes,  and  expressional  organizations.  The  lessons  are 
so  constructed  as  to  make  the  Sunday  sessions  largely 
devotional  and  the  week-day  sessions  largely  informa¬ 
tional.  Suggestions  are  given  for  an  expressional  meet¬ 
ing  in  which  pupils  discuss  the  application  of  the  truths 
they  have  learned  to  their  own  life  problems.  In  these 
meetings  they  also  plan  for  various  forms  of  Christian 
service  without  which  mere  information  and  formal 
devotion  are  devoid  of  any  great  religious  value. 

Churches  planning  to  use  these  textbooks  will  need  to 
provide  for  one  hour  of  religious  instruction  on  week 
days,  in  addition  to  their  usual  program.  In  the  Primary, 
Junior,  and  Intermediate  Departments  of  the  Sunday 
school,  the  Westminster  Textbooks  will  replace  the 
lesson  materials  heretofore  in  use.  The  expressional 
work  of  the  Westminster  Textbooks  will  supplant  the 
usual  topics  in  the  Junior  and  Intermediate  Christian 
Endeavor  Societies,  or  new  expressional  organizations 
will  be  formed  to  have  charge  of  this  phase  of  the 
educational  task  of  the  church. 

The  lessons  in  this  series  of  textbooks  may  be  used  in 
week-day  classes  independently  of  the  Sunday  school, 
by  taking  the  lessons  consecutively  in  the  week-day 
meetings.  In  this  case,  however,  there  will  be  no  corre¬ 
lated  and  unified  program  for  the  educational  activities 
of  the  church. 

In  carrying  out  the  plan  it  is  desirable  that,  so  far  as 
possible,  the  same  teachers  be  in  charge  in  all  three  ses¬ 
sions  of  the  church  school.  Where  this  is  not  possible, 


111 


IV 


PREFACE 


there  should  be  one  efficient  supervisory  Board  or  Coun¬ 
cil  of  Religious  Education  and  an  efficient  superintendent 
for  the  whole  program. 

Many  of  the  missionary  stories  in  this  volume  are 
adapted  from  George  H.  TrulFs  little  volume  entitled 
“Missionary  Programs  and  Incidents.”  A  few  are  also 
taken  from  Basil  Matthew’s  “The  Book  of  Missionary 
Heroes.” 


SUGGESTIONS  CONCERNING  THE  GOAL  OF 
THE  LESSONS  IN  THIS  VOLUME 

Teachers  in  the  Intermediate  Department  of  the  church 
school  are  face  to  face  with  a  great  opportunity.  At  the 
age  of  twelve  or  thirteen,  young  people  begin  to  be 
peculiarly  responsive  to  the  Christian  religion.  The  time 
is  drawing  near  when  most  of  them  will  make  a  life 
decision  for  or  against  the  religious  life,  if  they  have  not 
already  done  so.  An  adolescent  religious  awakening  is 
entirely  normal  for  young  people  of  Intermediate  age. 
Without  wise  guidance  and  careful  nurture  this  religious 
tendency  of  the  young  life  is  apt  to  be  but  a  feeble  and 
transient  spiritual  phenomenon.  Under  the  guidance  of 
wise  and  consecrated  parents  and  teachers  the  religious 
awakening  of  the  youthful  soul  becomes  a  permanent  and 
compelling  influence  dominating  the  whole  personality 
of  its  possessor. 

This  book  contains  material  fitted  for  use  in  Inter¬ 
mediate  classes,  for  it  deals  with  the  heroic  men  and 
women  who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Christian  Church. 
The  heart  of  youth  responds  to  these  heroic  lives  when 
they  are  presented  by  a  skilled  and  enthusiastic  teacher. 
It  is  the  goal  of  the  lessons  in  this  volume  to  bring  pupils 
to  a  decision  for  the  Christian  life  and  to  a  deep  and 
lasting  respect  for  the  Church  which  Jesus  established 
in  the  world  to  be  his  agency  for  setting  up  the  Kingdom 
of  God. 


SUGGESTIONS  CONCERNING  THE  WEEK  DAY 

SESSION 


The  week-day  session  is  intended  to  be  the  main  in¬ 
structional  period  of  the  correlated  school.  It  is  highly 
desirable  to  have  trained  teachers  for  this  part  of  the 
work  and  in  most  communities  they  should  be  paid. 
Classes  can  usually  be  much  larger  in  the  week-day  ses¬ 
sions  than  they  are  in  the  Sunday  sessions.  The  week¬ 
day  teacher  should  make  frequent  reviews,  so  as  to  be 
sure  that  both  the  week-day  lesson  material  and  the 
Sunday  lesson  material  is  being  mastered  by  the  pupils. 
If  necessary,  arrangements  should  be  made  for  taking 
lessons  over  if  they  have  not  been  mastered.  This  will 
be  possible  because  the  lessons  are  not  limited  to  any 
time  schedule. 

The  material  for  each  week-day  session  contains  some 
extra-Biblical  material,  usually  in  the  form  of  a  mission¬ 
ary  story.  These  stories  are  in  the  nature  of  suggestions. 
The  efficient  teacher  will  find  many  more  for  use  in  the 
class  and  will  seek  to  emphasize  the  Bible  teaching  by 
these  modern  illustrations  of  the  Bible  truth.  (See  sup¬ 
plemental  material  for  mission  instruction  named  under 
the  section  giving  suggestions  for  the  Sunday  session.) 


SUGGESTIONS  CONCERNING  THE  SUNDAY 

SESSION 


The  Sunday  session  of  the  correlated  school  is  chiefly 
responsible  for  training  the  pupils  in  worship.  Wher¬ 
ever  possible,  materials  suitable  for  the  attainment  of 
this  end  have  been  selected  for  the  Sunday  session.  The 
attainment  of  the  desired  goal  will  depend  on  the  depart¬ 
ment  superintendent  and  the  teachers.  Every  effort 
ought  to  be  made  to  secure  and  maintain  a  spirit  of 
reverence  and  devotion.  Hymns  should  be  carefully 
chosen  and  the  program  of  opening  worship  planned. 
Intermediate  pupils  are  old  enough  to  be  given  a  large 
share  in  the  service  of  worship  and  it  is  highly  desirable 
that  this  privilege  be  given  to  them.  Pupils  should  read 
the  Scripture,  take  up  the  offering,  lead  in  prayer,  and 
in  other  ways  assist  in  the  service. 

The  teachers  of  the  Sunday  session  ought  to  be  famil¬ 
iar  with  the  materials  presented  to  the  pupils  in  the 
week-day  sessions,  and  the  program  to  be  carried  out  in 
the  expressional  meeting.  It  is  only  thus,  that  the.  de¬ 
sired  unity  can  be  attained  in  the  pursuit  of  the  course. 
The  Sunday  teacher  ought  to  have  the  privilege  to  review 
the  week-day  lesson  and  to  use  the  questions  which  are 
found  in  the  material  for  the  expressional  meetings. 
The  pupils  will  be  all  the  better  prepared  for  the  expres¬ 
sional  meeting  if  they  have  discussed  these  questions 
with  their  Sunday  teacher. 

Certain  extra-Biblical  stories  are  introduced  in  the 
Sunday  lesson  material.  These  are  usually  of  a  mis¬ 
sionary  nature.  By  a  skillful  use  of  these  stories  and 
others  like  them,  the  Sunday  teacher  will  be  able  to 
connect  the  New  Testament  Church  with  the  Church  of 
to-day  and  lead  the  pupils  to  see  that  they  are  the  suc¬ 
cessors  of  the  apostles  and  first-century  Christians  in 
the  great  task  to  -which  Jesus  assigned  them  and  us. 

These  stories  are  only  suggestions.  Many  others  of 
the  same  kind  ought  to  be  used.  Teachers  will  find 
suitable  material  in  the  following  books : 


Vll 


Vlll 


CONCERNING  SUNDAY  SESSION 


“The  Book  of  Missionary  Heroes,”  by  Basil  Matthews. 
Doran. 

“Missionary  Programs  and  Incidents,”  by  George  H. 
Trull.  Missionary  Education  Movement,  156  Fifth 
Ave.,  New  York. 

These  and  other  suitable  books  may  be  secured  from 
the  Presbyterian  bookstores. 

Each  Sunday  lesson  contains  a  lesson  prayer.  Many 
teachers  use  this  in  the  class  for  a  brief  period  of  wor¬ 
ship  at  the  beginning  or  the  close  of  the  lesson  period. 
Teachers  may  well  compose  other  prayers  or  ask  pupils 
to  do  so  and  the  pupils  should  be  encouraged  to  offer 
extemporaneous  prayer. 

The  material  for  each  Sunday  session  ends  with  a 
great  hymn  of  the  Church  which  is  to  be  studied  under 
the  direction  of  the  Sunday  teacher.  These  hymns  have 
been  selected  with  a  view  to  their  fitness  to  emphasize 
the  truths  which  are  contained  in  the  preceding  lesson 
materials.  All  are  contained  in  the  book,  “Studies  of 
Familiar  Hymns,”  by  Louis  F.  Benson.  Westminster 
Press.  A  copy  of  this  book  should  be  in  the  hands  of 
every  Sunday  teacher  of  this  course.  Pupils  may  be 
asked  to  keep  notebooks  in  which  they  record  facts  con¬ 
cerning  the  hymns  as  given  by  the  teacher.  The  aim  is 
to  make  these  great  hymns  a  lasting  possession  of  the 
pupils. 


SUGGESTIONS  CONCERNING  THE  EXPRES- 

SIONAL  SESSION 

The  expressional  meeting  is  of  great  importance.  In 
this  session  the  pupils  learn  spiritual  initiative  and  self- 
expression.  By  carrying  out  the  program  of  activities 
planned  in  the  expressional  sessions,  pupils  make  the 
truths  they  have  learned  a  part  of  their  daily  life  and 
conduct.  The  superintendent  of  the  expressional  session 
has  therefore  a  task  of  utmost  importance.  So  far  as 
possible,  the  expressional  sessions  should  be  carried  on 
by  the  pupils  themselves.  This  is  their  meeting  in  which 
they  plan  to  put  into  effect  what  they  have  been  studying. 

It  is  recommended  that  the  expressional  meetings, 
whenever  conditions  seem  favorable,  should  be  organized 
as  Christian  Endeavor  Societies.  There  is  distinct  value 
in  being  thus  tied  to  a  great  national  organization  and 
in  being  a  part  of  a  community  organization  of  young 
people  such  as  the  Christian  Endeavor  unions.  The 
using  of  topics  other  than  those  gotten  out  by  the  Chris¬ 
tian  Endeavor  Society  in  no  way  makes  it  necessary  for 
the  expressional  organization  to  be  independent  of  the 
Christian  Endeavor  movement. 

For  the  convenience  of  the  leader  of  the  meeting  and 
the  superintendent  of  the  organization,  the  material  for 
the  expressional  session  is  grouped  under  certain  heads. 
First  comes  a  brief  and  suggestive  study  of  some  Scrip¬ 
ture  passage  which  is  the  basis  of  the  topic.  The  super¬ 
intendent  should  assign  this  introductory  matter  to  the 
leader  of  the  meeting  or  some  other  pupil.  Suggestions 
should  be  made  for  other  materials,  if  this  seems 
desirable. 

Then  come  some  definite  statements  concerning  the 
truths  learned  in  the  Sunday  session  and  the  week-day 
session  of  the  school.  The  teacher  should  use  these  as 
suggestions  and  encourage  pupils  to  form  similar 
statements  of  their  own. 

The  review  questions  will  help  to  tie  the  expressional 
session  to  the  other  sessions  and  will  prepare  the  minds 


IX 


X 


CONCERNING  EXPRESSIONAE  SESSION 


of  the  pupils  for  the  meeting  by  refreshing  their  memory 
of  what  has  been  studied.  These  questions  may  be  used 
in  a  variety  of  ways,  which  will  suggest  themselves  to 
the  trained  teacher  or  superintendent. 

The  Bible  verses  have  some  direct  bearing  on  the 
theme  and  ought  not  to  be  merely  read  by  the  pupils. 
Verses  should  be  assigned  to  pupils  before  the  beginning 
of  the  meeting  so  that  they  will  have  time  to  study  them 
and  speak  on  the  theme  they  suggest. 

The  study  topics  ought  to  be  taken  up  as  one  of  the 
main  parts  of  the  session.  They  aim  to  bring  the  truths 
taught  in  the  preceding  sessions  into  living  contact  with 
the  pupils.  It  will  be  found  best  to  assign  these  topics 
some  time  before  the  expressional  meeting,  perhaps  at 
the  week-day  session  of  the  school.  Pupils  will  thus 
have  an  opportunity  to  make  investigations  and  prepare 
themselves  to  present  something  of  real  value  to  the 
class.  The  superintendent  should  be  ready  to  help  pupils 
in  the  study  of  topics  assigned. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  matter  in  the  whole 
program  is  that  suggested  under  the  heading,  '‘Putting 
the  Truths  of  the  Besson  Into  Practice.”  The  ways  in 
which  the  truths  which  have  been  studied  may  be  given 
expression  vary  in  every  community,  and  with  individual 
pupils.  The  superintendent  must  l3e  a  skilled  workman 
who  knows  the  pupils  intimately  and  who  can  guide  their 
activities  into  the  ways  which  will  result  in  lasting  spiri¬ 
tual  development.  A  few  suggestions  are  given  in  each 
lesson,  but  the  efficient  supervisor  will  need  to  seek  out 
other  ways  which  are  suggested  by  conditions  in  the 
community  and  the  needs  of  the  pupils. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

General  Plan  of  the  Westminster  Textbooks  of  Re¬ 
ligious  Education .  iii 

Suggestions  Concerning  the  Goal  of  the  Lessons  in 
This  Volume .  v 

Suggestions  Concerning  the  Week  Day  Session.  ...  vi 

Suggestions  Concerning  the  Sunday  Session .  vii 

Suggestions  Concerning  the  Expressional  Session..  ix 

Chapter  I.  The  Great  Forerunner  of  Jesus. .  3 

Chapter  II.  Women  Who  Were  Among  the 

Early  Followers  of  Jesus .  15 

Chapter  HI.  Peter  the  Impetuous .  28 

Chapter  IV.  Peter  as  a  New  Testament  Writer  41 

Chapter  V.  The  Disciple  Whom  Jesus  Loved  53 

Chapter  VI.  Messages  from  the  Writings  of 

John  .  66 

Chapter  VII.  Andrew,  a  Faithful  Man  of  Aver¬ 
age  Ability .  79 

Chapter  VIII.  Matthew,  a  Publican  Who  Be¬ 
came  an  Apostle .  91 

Chapter  IX.  James  the  Apostle  and  James  the 

Lord’s  Brother .  104 

Chapter  X.  Disciples  of  Whom  but  Little  Is 

Known  .  117 

Chapter  XL  Judas,  the  Failure  of  the  Twelve  130 

Chapter  XII.  John  Mark,  Who  Made  Good  in 

His  Second  Chance .  144 

Chapter  XIII.  Luke,  the  Good  Physician .  157 

Chapter  XIV.  Stephen  and  Philip  the  Evan¬ 
gelist  .  171 


XI 


Xll 


TABI,E  OF  CONTENTS 


PACK 


Chapter 

XV. 

Chapter 

XVI. 

Chapter 

XVII. 

Chapter 

XVHI. 

Chapter 

XIX. 

Chapter 

XX. 

Chapter 

XXL 

Apollos  and  Barnabas,  Two  Early 


Converts  to  Christianity .  186 

Two  Young  Men  Who  Were 
Helpers  of  Paul .  199 

A  Roman  Centurion  and  a  Run¬ 
away  Slave.  The  Universal 
Appeal  of  the  Gospel . 212 

Some  Women  Who  Were  Help¬ 
ers  of  Paul .  224 

Nicodemus  and  Joseph  of  Ari- 
mathsea,  Secret  Disciples  of 
Jesus  .  237 

The  Fellowship  of  Believers  in 
the  Early  Church .  250 

The  Early  Church  in  Its  Battle 
With  Evil .  262 


THE  APOSTLES’  CREED 

I  BELIEVE  in  God  the  Father  Almighty,  Maker  of 
heaven  and  earth :  And  in  Jesus  Christ  his  only  Son,  our 
Lord ;  who  was  conceived  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  born  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate,  was 
crucified,  dead,  and  buried;  he  descended  into  hell;*  the 
third  day  he  rose  again  from  the  dead ;  he  ascended  into 
heaven,  and  sitteth  on  the  right  right  hand  of  God  the 
Father  Almighty;  from  thence  he  shall  come  to  judge 
the  quick  and  the  dead. 

I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost ;  the  holy  Catholic  Church ; 
the  communion  of  saints ;  the  forgiveness  of  sins ;  the 
resurrection  of  the  body ;  and  the  life  everlasting.  Amen. 

*  i.  e.  Continued  in  the  state  of  the  dead  and  under  the  power  of  death 

until  the  third  day. 


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V. 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  GREAT  FORERUNNER  OF  JESUS 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

THE  LAST  AND  GREATEST  OF  THE  HEBREW 

PROPHETS 

Matt.,  ch.  3;  Luke  3:1-22;  John  1:19-34 

The  Hebrew  prophets  were  great  orators.  The  sub¬ 
limity  of  their  utterances  has  stirred  the  hearts  of  many 
generations.  They  were  great  statesmen.  With  clear 
vision  they  read  aright  the  perplexing  events  of  their  day. 
They  pointed  unerringly  to  the  sources  of  the  evils 
which  were  gathering  about  the  Hebrew  people  and 
shadowing  all  the  world.  Above  all,  they  were  great  in 
the  elements  of  personal  character.  They  were  simple 
in  their  manner  of  life  and  sincere  under  every  condi¬ 
tion.  They  were  courageous,  energetic,  compassionate. 
In  this  chapter  we  are  to  study  the  life  of  one  who  was 
the  last  and  greatest  of  the  Hebrew  prophets.  Jesus  said 
of  him  that  he  was  a  prophet,  and  “much  more  than  a 
prophet,”  that  no  greater  had  ever  been  born. 

Old  Testament  Prophecies  Concerning  John.  Mai.  3:1; 
Isa.  40:3-5.  So  important  was  the  work  assigned  to 
John  in  the  providence  of  God  that  some  of  the  Old 
Testament  prophets  foresaw  his  coming.  Malachi  told 
the  people  of  his  day  that  the  Lord  would  suddenly  come 
to  his  temple,  but  that  before  he  came  he  would  send 
his  messenger  to  prepare  the  way  before  him.  In  the 
prophecy  of  Malachi  this  one  who  should  make  ready  for 
the  coming  of  the  Lord  is  called  Elijah.  The  prophet 
seems  to  have  meant  that  this  forerunner  of  the  Lord 
should  be  a  man  who  would  go  forth  to  his  great  task 
with  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elijah.  Isaiah,  too,  believed 
that  Jehovah  would  come  in  person  to  his  people,  and 
that  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness  would 
summon  the  faithful  to  make  ready  the  highway  of  God. 

God’s  Perfect  Plan.  Mark  1  :l-8.  As  we  read  these 


3 


4 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


first  verses  of  the  Gospel  According  to  Mark  we  are 
impressed  with  the  continuity  and  the  perfectness  of 
God’s  plans  for  saving  the  world.  They  bind  together 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  New  Testament.  The  Old 
Testament  ends  with  the  promise  of  the  coming  of  a 
Saviour  of  the  world  and  tells  us  that  there  shall  be  one 
who  will  go  before  this  Saviour  King  and  make  ready 
for  him.  The  Gospel  According  to  Mark,  perhaps  the 
first  New  Testament  book  to  be  written,  takes  up  the 
narrative  of  the  Old  Testament  and  tells  of  the  one  who 
should  prepare  for  the  coming  of  the  promised  Saviour 
of  the  world. 

God’s  plans  are  perfect.  If  they  ever  seem  to  fail  it  is 
because  men  fail  in  the  part  which  God  has  assigned  to 
them.  What  did  the  people  of  that  day  need  to  do  in 
order  to  be  ready  for  the  coming  of  the  Messiah?  They 
needed,  first  of  all,  to  repent  of  their  sins. 

So  John’s  message  was  a  call  to  repentance.  He  ^‘preached 
the  baptism  of  repentance  unto  remission  of  sins.” 
Multitudes  of  people  responded  to  the  appeal.  They  pro¬ 
fessed  repentance  and  were  baptized.  The  repentance 
of  many  of  John’s  converts  seems  to  have  been  shallow 
and  temporary.  They  soon  forgot  their  new  resolves  and 
returned  to  their  old  habits  of  life.  There  were  some, 
however,  in  whom  a  profound  spiritual  change  had  been 
wrought.  These  became  disciples  of  John  and  later  were 
among  the  most  intimate  and  faithful  followers  of  Jesus. 

Preparing  for  a  King  and  a  Kingdom.  Luke  3:1-22. 
John  not  only  proclaimed  that  the  King  was  at  hand  but 
that  the  Kingdom  of  heaven  was  soon  to  begin.  There¬ 
fore  he  was  intensely  practical  in  his  sermons.  He  told 
the  people  that  they  must  not  only  repent,  but  that  they 
must  “bring  forth  .  .  .  fruits  worthy  of  repentance.” 
He  meant  that  they  must  show  by  their  changed  manner 
of  life  that  they  were  truly  sorry  for  the  sins  they  had 
committed.  For  the  common  people,  for  the  Pharisees, 
for  the  publicans,  and  for  the  soldiers,  John  had  some 
practical  suggestion  as  to  how  they  could  contribute 
toward  the  setting  up  of  that  Kingdom  of  service  and 
brotherhood  which  was  soon  to  begin. 

Only  a  Voice  in  the  Wilderness.  John  1 :19-34.  John 
was  a  truly  unselfish  man.  His  one  great  desire  was  to 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


5 


make  ready  for  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  to  make  known 
the  Saviour  of  the  world.  He  said  that  he  was  not  the 
Christ.  He  would  lay  no  claim  to  being  Elijah.  When 
asked  if  he  were  the  prophet  who  should  come  he  an¬ 
swered  emphatically,  “No.”  He  was  only  a  voice  of  the 
wilderness  proclaiming  that  the  Messiah  was  drawing 
near  and  that  all  should  repent  of  their  sins  in  prepara¬ 
tion  for  his  appearance.  Great  and  heroic  characters  of 
history  have  been  like  John.  They  have  been  free  from 
selfishness. 

The  Joy  of  the  Bridegroom’s  Friend.  John  3:22-30. 
The  purity  and  nobility  of  John’s  character  were  revealed 
by  an  incident  which  occurred  when  the  ministry  of 
Jesus  was  just  begun  and  the  ministry  of  John  was 
drawing  near  to  its  close.  Jesus  was  preaching  and  his 
disciples  were  baptizing.  In  a  little  while  it  was  noted 
that  the  crowds  about  John  were  decreasing,  while  the 
crowds  about  Jesus  were  growing  larger.  This  seems  to 
have  caused  concern  to  some  of  the  disciples  of  John. 
They  came  to  him  saying,  “Rabbi,  he  that  was  with 
thee  beyond  the  Jordan,  to  whom  thou  hast  borne  wit¬ 
ness,  behold,  the  same  baptizeth,  and  all  men  come  to 
him.”  The  increasing  popularity  of  Jesus  and  his  own 
waning  sway  over  the  multitudes  awakened  no  feeling 
of  jealousy  in  the  noble  spirit  of  John.  On  the  contrary, 
he  was  deeply  glad  because  of  the  growing  success  of 
Jesus.  He  told  his  disciples  that  he  was  like  the  friend 
of  the  bridegroom  at  an  Oriental  wedding.  This  friend 
of  the  bridegroom  at  an  Eastern  wedding  labors  dili¬ 
gently,  planning  all  the  events  of  the  wedding  ceremonial 
and  seeing  to  it  that  all  the  plans  are  carried  out.  He 
receives  no  pay  in  money.  He  has  no  honors  bestowed 
upon  him.  The  eyes  of  all  the  company  are  upon  the 
bridegroom,  not  upon  the  bridegroom’s  friend.  He  stands 
outside  the  door  when  the  marriage  ceremony  is  per¬ 
formed,  but  he  is  not  sad.  He  hears  the  bridegroom’s 
voice  and  he  is  made  happy  by  the  happiness  of  his 
friend.  This  joy  which  comes  to  one  because  he  has 
helped  to  make  another  happy  is  one  of  the  deepest  and 
most  enduring  joys  that  the  human  heart  can  experience. 
John  could  say  truly,  ^^This  my  joy  therefore  is  made 
full.” 


6  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS 

A  Twentieth  Century  Forerunner  oe  the  Christ 

John’s  work  was  not  entirely  different  from  that  of 
some  people  of  to-day.  Those  who  go  out  as  missionaries 
into  countries  where  Jesus  is  little  known,  or  known  not 
at  all,  are  making  ready  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord. 

Some  years  ago  there  was  a  professor  in  the  Kansas 
State  Normal  School  named  Thomas  M.  Iden.  He  had 
such  a  fatherly  love  for  all  the  young  men  of  that  school 
that  he  was  generally  known  as  “Father  Iden.”  Every 
Friday  evening  he  gathered  the  young  men  into  a  Bible 
class.  In  this  Bible  class  was  a  young  fellow  named 
Albert  Shelton.  Under  the  teaching  of  Father  Iden 
young  Shelton  began  to  think  about  what  he  was  going 
to  do  with  his  life.  Both  the  instruction  and  the  example 
of  his  beloved  teacher  led  him  to  feel  that  he  ought  to 
give  his  life  to  the  service  of  his  fellow  men  and  to  the 
building  up  of  God’s  Kingdom  on  earth.  He  decided 
that  he  could  make  his  life  most  useful  by  becoming  a 
medical  missionary.  He  wished  to  go  to  the  country 
where  there  was  the  greatest  need. 

To  the  north  of  the  Himalaya  mountains  lies  the  Plateau 
of  Tibet.  The  capital  of  Tibet  is  Lhasa,  the  sacred  city 
of  the  Buddhists.  Lhasa  has  long  been  known  as  “The 
Forbidden  City,”  because  no  foreigner  is  allowed  to  enter 
within  its  walls.  There  was  no  imissionary  in  all  Tibet. 
Albert  Shelton  took  it  as  his  life  task  to  carry  the  mes¬ 
sage  of  Christianity  into  Tibet  and  to  the  “Forbidden 
City.” 

Of  course,  he  could  not  enter  the  country  at  once,  but 
there  is  a  small  portion  of  Northern  Tibet  which  is  con¬ 
trolled,  in  a  measure,  by  the  Chinese.  China  claims  a 
sort  of  protectorate  over  the  whole  country,  but  its 
authority  really  extends  only  a  very  little  way  across 
the  northern  boundary  of  the  Tibetan  territory.  Dr. 
Shelton  secured  permission  from  the  Chinese  Govern¬ 
ment  to  locate  in  this  small  strip  of  country  which  was 
under  the  control  of  China.  He  thus  gained  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  go  among  the  Tibetans  and  to  learn  their  lan¬ 
guage.  He  labored  on  for  years,  winning  the  friendship 
of  many  of  the  people,  but  always  longing  for  the  day 
when  he  might  enter  the  interior  of  the  land  and  bear 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


7 


his  ministry  of  healing  and  the  message  of  truth  into  the 
Forbidden  City. 

For  twenty  years  he  labored  and  hoped,  but  at  the 
end  of  that  time  the  triumph  of  his  plans  seemed  further 
away  than  ever.  Civil  wars  in  China  had  all  but  de¬ 
stroyed  Chinese  authority  in  Northern  Tibet.  Wild 
hordes  of  Tibetan  bandits  swept  through  the  country.  Dr. 
Shelton  was  captured  by  one  of  these  robber  bands  and 
carried  away.  The  bandits  demanded  a  large  ransom  for 
his  return,  but  the  Chinese  authorities  would  not  permit 
any  ransom  to  be  paid,  so  the  robbers  carried  Dr.  Shelton 
about  with  them  for  months.  Gradually  he  won  their 
confidence  and  their  friendship.  He  was  the  physician 
of  the  group  and  they  marveled  at  his  power  to  heal. 
Once  a  number  of  the  bandits  plotted  mutiny  against 
their  chief  and  wished  Dr.  Shelton  to  become  their  leader 
in  an  uprising  against  his  authority,  but  they  found  that 
the  prisoner  had  no  desire  for  leadership  won  through 
plotting  and  bloodshed.  Dr.  Shelton  became  ill  and  suf¬ 
fered  terribly  as  he  was  carried  about  from  hiding  place 
to  hiding  place  as  the  robbers  fled  before  the  Chinese 
soldiers.  At  last  the  bandits  were  so  closely  pressed  that 
they  had  to  abandon  their  prisoner.  It  took  months  to 
nurse  Dr.  Shelton  back  to  health  but  as  soon  as  he  was 
well,  he  went  back  to  his  task. 

The  World  War  came  on  and  young  men  from  even 
far-away  Tibet  were  drawn  into  the  dreadful  conflict. 
Dr.  Shelton  went  among  these  Tibetan  soldiers  and  min¬ 
istered  to  their  sick.  He  knew  their  language  and  their 
needs  better  than  any  other  white  person  in  the  world. 
He  won  the  friendship  and  confidence  of  thousands  of 
Tibetan  soldiers.  He  told  some  of  them  of  his  lifelong 
hope  to  go  to  the  capital  of  their  nation  and  establish 
a  Christian  hospital  there. 

After  the  close  of  the  war.  Dr.  Shelton  returned  to  the 
United  States  for  a  short  rest.  While  in  this  country  he 
was  gladdened  by  a  message  which  came  to  him  from 
the  Government  of  Tibet.  He  was  invited  to  come  to 
the  Forbidden  City  to  begin  the  building  of  a  hospital. 
The  Tibetan  soldiers  had  spread  the  story  of  Dr.  Shelton’s 
ministrations  in  the  army  camps  and  now  the  realization 
of  his  life  dreams  seemed  at  hand.  He  returned  to 


8 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Northern  Tibet  expecting  to  make  his  way  from  there  to 
Lhasa.  But  he  was  never  to  set  foot  within  the  For¬ 
bidden  City.  His  mission,  like  that  of  John  the  Baptist, 
was  one  of  preparation.  He  had  opened  the  gates  for 
others  to  enter.  A  few  weeks  after  he  left  this  country 
the  ocean  cables  flashed  back  to  America  the  message : 
“Dr.  Shelton  has  been  killed  by  bandits  in  Northern 
Tibet.”  But  Dr.  Shelton  won  his  goal,  nevertheless. 
He  was  not  striving  all  through  the  years  merely  that 
he  himself  might  enter  Lhasa.  He  was  laboring  that  the 
King  of  kings  might  enter  the  Forbidden  City  and  he 
was  making  ready  a  highway  for  the  Lord. 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

A  MOMENT  OF  DOUBT  AND  A  HEROIC  DEATH 

Matt.  11:2-19;  14:1-12 

The  New  Testament  speaks  of  those  who  show  “re¬ 
spect  of  persons  for  the  sake  of  advantage.”  John  the 
Baptist  was  not  such  a  person.  He  reproved  the  Phari¬ 
sees  for  their  sins  just  as  he  spoke  to  the  soldiers  and  the 
publicans.  He  never  tried  to  curry  favor  with  those  who 
possessed  position  and  authority.  This  fearless  and 
democratic  spirit  of  John  finally  got  him  into  trouble, 
but  without  it  he  would  not  have  been  a  worthy 
forerunner  of  the  Messiah. 

A  Prophet  Who  Dared  to  Reprove  a  King.  Matt. 
14:3-5.  Herod  Antipas  was  a  crafty  and  cruel  ruler.  His 
private  life  was  likewise  scandalous,  for  he  stole  his 
brother’s  wife  and  married  her.  John  had  reproved  the 
publicans  for  extortion.  He  had  reproved  the  Roman 
soldiers  for  their  greed  and  their  blackmail.  He  had 
scathingly  condemned  the  Pharisees  calling  them  the 
“offspring  of  vipers.”  Now  the  ruler  of  the  land  in  which 
John  was  living  had  committed  a  bold  offense  against 
law  and  decency.  A  less  courageous  man  than  John 
would  have  hesitated  before  he  opened  his  mouth  against 
Herod.  To  speak  against  the  king  meant  almost  certain 
imprisonment  and  death.  There  were  plenty  of  self- 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


9 


seeking  Jews  about  Herod,  flattering  him  and  ready  to 
find  excuses  for  any  crime  he  might  commit.  But  John 
was  not  like  these  hangers-on  at  the  court  of  Herod 
Antipas.  He  reproved  Herod  for  his  wickedness  and 
was  forthwith  cast  into  prison. 

The  Dungeon  of  Machaerus.  The  place  of  John’s  im¬ 
prisonment  is  thought  to  have  been  the  lonely  castle  of 
Machaerus,  east  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Herod  was  afraid  to 
put  John  to  death  lest  there  be  an  uprising  of  the  people, 
for  the  common  people  of  the  country  believed  that  John 
was  a  prophet.  So  Herod  just  kept  John  in  the  dungeon. 
John  seems  to  have  been  a  kind  of  curiosity  to  Herod, 
for  we  are  told  that  he  sent  for  John  many  times  and 
brought  him  out  of  the  dungeon  that  he  might  talk  with 
him.  Perhaps  Herod  had  never  met  before  a  man  who 
talked  to  him  in  the  way  that  John  did.  He  seems  to 
have  enjoyed  the  novelty  of  having  a  man  speak  to  him 
without  flattery,  telling  him  the  plain  truth,  for  we  are 
told  that  he  heard  John  gladly.  But  not  so  Herodias, 
the  wicked  woman  who  had  forsaken  one  brother  to 
become  the  wife  of  another.  John’s  bold  proclamation 
of  the  illegality  of  her  marriage  to  Herod  endangered  her 
position  as  queen,  and  with  a  heart  full  of  bitter  hate  she 
sought  the  destruction  of  the  prophet  who  had  dared  to 
tell  her  of  her  sin. 

John  Sends  Messengers  to  Jesus.  Matt.  11 :2-6.  John 
was  a  man  of  the  out  of  doors.  He  had  been  a  country 
boy.  He  had  lived  as  a  man  in  the  wilderness.  To  be 
confined  in  a  dungeon  was  a  terrible  experience  for  him. 
It  is  said  that  in  the  dungeons  of  Machaerus  sulphurous 
volcanic  fumes  were  constantly  coming  up  through  the 
cracks  in  the  rocks  on  which  the  castle  was  erected.  John 
was  a  man  of  Old  Testament  ideas.  He  doubtless  ex¬ 
pected  the  Messiah  to  set  up  an  earthly  kingdom. 

After  many  weeks  of  imprisonment  John  seems  to  have 
begun  to  wonder  whether  he  may  not  have  been  mistaken 
as  to  Jesus’  being  the  Messiah.  He  was  not  doubting 
the  words  of  Jesus,  for,  so  far  as  we  know,  Jesus  had 
never  made  such  a  claim  even  to  John.  He  was  rather 
doubting  his  own  conclusions.  Like  the  honest-hearted 
man  that  he  was,  John  determined  to  send  his  disciples 
directly  to  Jesus  that  they  might  make  inquiry  concern- 


10  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


ing  the  matter  which  was  troubling  him.  So  these  dis¬ 
ciples  came  to  Jesus  saying  that  their  Master  wished 
them  to  ask  this  question,  “Art  thou  he  that  cometh,  or 
look  we  for  another?” 

Jesus  answered  the  question  in  a  remarkable  way.  He 
kept  right  on  with  his  work  of  healing  and  teaching  for 
some  time ;  then  he  told  the  disciples  to  go  and  tell  their 
master  the  things  which  they  had  seen  and  heard,  that 
the  blind  were  receiving  sight,  that  the  lame  were  being 
caused  to  walk  and  the  deaf  to  hear,  that  even  the  dead 
were  being  raised  up,  and  that  the  poor  were  having  the 
gospel  preached  unto  them.  Then  Jesus  added  in  kindly 
warning,  “And  blessed  is  he,  whosoever  shall  find  no 
occasion  of  stumbling  in  me.” 

The  Death  of  John  the  Baptist.  Matt.  14:6-12.  Hero- 
dias  had  been  watching  for  an  opportunity  to  have  John 
put  to  death,  but  Herod  would  not  consent  to  these 
wishes  of  his  wicked  queen.  After  a  time  Herod  was 
celebrating  his  birthday  with  his  friends.  Perhaps  they 
were  all  half-drunk.  The  daughter  of  Herodias  came  in 
and  danced  before  the  king  and  his  friends.  That  the 
princess  should  act  as  a  dancing  girl  to  please  him  and 
his  friends  flattered  the  muddled  mind  of  Herod  and  he 
rashly  promised  to  give  the  girl  anything  she  should 
ask,  even  if  she  should  ask  for  half  of  his  kingdom.  The 
daughter  of  Herodias  went  out  and  consulted  her  mother 
as  to  what  request  she  should  make.  Perhaps  Herodias 
had  been  planning  for  exactly  such  an  outcome  and  she 
told  her  daughter  to  ask  for  the  head  of  John  the  Baptist. 

When  Herod  heard  this  request,  he  was  grieved.  His 
false  pride,  however,  kept  him  from  “backing  out”  before 
his  friends,  so  he  ordered  the  shameful  deed  to  be  done 
and  John  was  beheaded  in  the  dungeon.  Thus  perished 
the  kingly  man  at  the  hands  of  the  unmanly  king  and  his 
cruel  queen. 

Sir  Thomas  More  in  an  English  Dungeon 

John  the  Baptist  chose  to  die  rather  than  compromise 
the  truth.  There  were  values  which  he  placed  far  above 
the  value  of  mere  physical  well-being.  Such  heroic  char¬ 
acters  are  scattered  here  and  there  through  history.  Sir 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  11 


Thomas  More  was  such  a  man.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
learned  men  of  his  times.  He  stood  high  in  the  favor  of 
the  king  and  held  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust. 
But  the  time  came  when  a  cruel  and  selfish  king  com¬ 
manded  Sir  Thomas  to  do  that  which  was  wrong.  When 
Sir  Thomas  refused,  he  was  cast  into  prison  and  he  was 
warned  that  continued  disobedience  to  the  king  meant 
his  execution.  Even  the  wife  of  Sir  Thomas  could  not 
understand  the  high  ground  her  husband  had  taken  for 
conscience’  sake.  She  came  to  him  in  the  prison  and  ^ 
begged  him  to  submit  to  the  king’s  command.  “Oh,  why 
should  you  stay  here  in  this  vile  place  with  the  rats  and 
the  mice,”  said  she,  “when  by  speaking  only  a  word  you 
might  be  restored  to  favor  with  the  king,  and  be  given 
honor,  power,  and  wealth?”  But  Sir  Thomas  More  would 
not  yield  even  to  his  wife’s  pleading.  He  counted 
righteousness  and  virtue  more  precious  than  life. 

The:  Le:sson  Praye:r 

Our  Father  in  heaven,  we  thank  thee  for  the  life  story 
of  thy  servant,  John  the  Baptist.  We  thank  thee  that 
thou  hast  raised  up  others  like  him  in  every  century,  who 
have  lived  lives  that  were  true  and  courageous  and  who 
have  been  willing  to  give  up  life  itself  rather  than  do  that 
which  they  knew  to  be  evil.  Our  problems  are  small 
compared  with  the  problems  which  these  heroes  of  the 
faith  have  had  to  meet,  but  we  need  something  of  that 
same  devotion  to  righteousness  and  truth  which  they 
possessed.  Help  us,  then,  in  times  of  temptation  that  we 
may  be  victorious  over  evil  and  that  we  may  always 
choose  the  way  that  is  right,  even  though  it  be  the  way 
of  self-sacrifice  and  present  pain.  We  ask  in  the  name 
of  Jesus,  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“Take  My  Life,  and  Let  It  Be.”  “Studies  of  Familiar 
Hymns,”  page  211. 


12  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

THE  PENALTIES  OF  SELFISHNESS  AND  THE 
REWARDS  OF  UNSELFISHNESS 

Phil.  2:1-11 

Our  Scripture  lesson  is  one  of  Paul’s  earnest  appeals 
to  his  beloved  Philippian  Christians.  It  is  a  noble  call 
to  the  unselfish  life.  He  urges  them  to  be  of  one  accord 
and  one  mind  and  to  put  away  those  factions  and  rival¬ 
ries  which  are  the  result  of  selfishness.  What  we  need 
most,  in  the  home,  the  school,  the  Church,  and  the  nation, 
is  that  unselfish  spirit  which  leads  each  member  of  these 
organizations  of  society  to  look  not  only  to  his  own 
things  but  also  to  the  things  of  others. 

Paul  wisely  points  the  Philippians  to  Christ  as  the  great 
example  of  unselfishness.  Jesus  was  God’s  Son;  he  ex¬ 
isted  ^‘in  the  form  of  God.”  Yet  he  ‘‘emptied  himself” 
and  took  the  form  of  a  servant.  For  the  salvation  of 
others  he  became  obedient  even  to  the  death  of  the  cross. 
This  measureless  unselfishness  of  Jesus  did  not  go  unre¬ 
warded,  however.  Paul  says,  “Wherefore  also  God 
highly  exalted  him,  and  gave  unto  him  the  name  which 
is  above  every  name.”  This  exaltation  of  Jesus  because 
of  his  profound  unselfishness  is  not  a  unique  and  arbi¬ 
trary  act  of  God ;  it  is  rather  the  result  of  a  universal 
law  which  works  in  every  life  and  in  every  age. 

SoMK  Truths  from  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

Herod  Antipas  is  a  splendid  illustration  of  the  penalties 
which  fall  upon  a  selfish  life.  John  the  Baptist  is  a 
splendid  illustration  of  the  rewards  of  unselfishness.  All 
that  we  know  about  Herod  shows  that  he  was  intensely 
selfish.  He  ruled  his  country  selfishly.  He  cared  so  little 
for  his  own  brother  that  he  was  willing  to  wrong  him 
outrageously  if  he  could  thereby  satisfy  his  own  wishes. 
Let  us  see  what  selfishness  did  for  Herod.  It  made  him 
a  coward.  Selfishness  and  heroic  courage  can  hardly 
exist  side  by  side  in  the  same  personality.  Herod  was 
afraid  of  the  multitudes.  He  was  afraid  that  his  friends 
might  laugh  at  him  if  he  refused  to  keep  his  promise  to 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  13 


the  daughter  of  Herodias.  All  his  later  years  were 
haunted  by  fear.  When  he  heard  about  Jesus,  his  guilty 
life  made  him  superstitious  and  timid.  He  said  with 
blanched  cheeks  and  inner  trembling,  “John,  whom  I  be¬ 
headed,  he  is  risen.”  Herod  tried  to  have  a  good  time  in 
life.  He  had  wealth  and  power  and  every  luxury.  He 
gathered  his  friends  to  his  gay  festivals,  but  we  can  see 
that  he  was  not  really  happy.  A  selfish  person  can  never 
know  the  deepest  happiness. 

John  the  Baptist  had  none  of  the  things  which  Herod 
possessed.  He  was  poor  and  without  position  or  influ¬ 
ential  friends.  Yet  his  profound  unselfishness  brought 
him  great  rewards.  It  made  him  a  happy  man.  We  hear 
Herod  speaking  of  fear  and  grief,  whereas  John  told  his 
disciples  that  the  success  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus  was 
giving  him  fullness  of  joy.  John’s  unselfishness  made 
him  courageous,  useful,  and  powerful  over  the  lives  of 
others. 

Review  Questions 

1.  Name  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Hebrew 
prophets. 

2.  Why  is  John  the  Baptist  entitled  to  the  term 
“greatest  of  the  prophets”  ? 

3.  What  was  John’s  work  and  why  was  it  necessary? 

4.  Name  an  incident  which  shows  John’s  unselfish¬ 
ness. 

5.  Name  an  incident  which  shows  the  selfishness  of 
Herod. 

6.  Tell  briefly  the  story  of  Dr.  Shelton. 

7.  Why  did  John  send  messengers  to  Jesus? 

8.  What  words  of  commendation  did  Jesus  speak  con¬ 
cerning  John? 

9.  Would  it  have  been  wrong  for  Herod  to  break  his 
promise  to  the  daughter  of  Herodias? 

10.  Did  Sir  Thomas  More  do  right  when  he  refused 
to  save  his  life  by  obeying  the  king? 

Bibte  Verses 

Isa.  56:11;  Luke  3:11;  14:33;  Acts  2:44,  45;  Rom. 
15:1-3;  I  Cor.  10:24;  13:5;  H  Cor.  5:15;  II  Tim.  3:2; 
James  2:8. 


14  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Study  Topics 

1.  Abraham’s  Unselfish  Choice  and  Its  Reward.  Gen. 
13:8,  9,  14-17. 

2.  Lot’s  Selfish  Choice  and  Its  Penalty.  Gen. 
13:11,12. 

3.  How  Selfishness  Made  King  Saul  Jealous  and 
Unhappy.  I  Sam.  18:6-9. 

4.  The  Noble  Unselfishness  of  Jonathan.  I  Sam. 
18:1-5. 

5.  Unselfish  Acts  in  the  Life  of  Jesus.  Matt.  4:8-10; 
John  6 :15  ;  18 :8. 

6.  Ways  in  Which  Selfishness  Mars  the  Life  of  the 
Home. 

7.  Is  Unselfishness  Necessary  for  the  Highest  Types 
of  Courage  ?  Why  ? 

8.  Can  Anyone  Who  Is  Essentially  Self-Centered  Be 
a  True  Friend? 

9.  Benedict  Arnold :  An  American  Who  Loved 
Himself  More  Than  He  Loved  His  Country. 

10.  Ways  in  Which  We  May  Cultivate  a  Spirit’  of 
Unselfishness.  (Giving  up  seat  in  street  car  to  women 
or  elderly  people;  helping  mother  about  the  house,  et 
cetera.) 

Putting  the  Truths  oe  the  Lesson  Into  Practice 

Plan  for  a  self-denial  week  in  which  money  usually 
spent  for  self  is  saved  and  put  into  a  fund  to  be  used  for 
benevolent  purposes  under  the  direction  of  the  class. 
Have  written,  but  unsigned,  reports  on  the  forms  of  self- 
denial  employed  during  this  week  by  members  of  the 
class.  Let  the  teacher  or  some  member  of  the  class  read 
these  reports  at  the  next  meeting  so  that  they  may  be 
discussed  in  the  class. 


CHAPTER  II 


WOMEN  WHO  WERE  AMONG  THE  EARLY 
FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

MARY  THE  MOTHER  OF  JESUS 
Luke  1 :26-38,  46-55 ;  2 :51 

Jesus  chose  his  twelve  apostles  from  among  the  men 
of  the  Jewish  nation.  He  was  wise  in  choosing  only 
men  for  this  company  because  the  work  lying  before 
them  was  of  a  kind  that  in  that  age  only  men  ought  to 
undertake.  We  must  not  conclude,  however,  that  women 
had  no  part  in*  the  plans  of  Jesus,  nor  can  we  believe  that 
the  part  which  they  played  in  the  beginnings  of  the 
Kingdom  was  unimportant. 

The  life  of  Jesus  was  one  of  constant  service.  He 
ministered  to  men,  women,  and  children.  He  healed  the 
sick,  cured  the  blind,  taught  those  who  were  groping  in 
spiritual  darkness,  preached  righteousness  to  the  multi¬ 
tudes.  He  came  '‘not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  min¬ 
ister.”  He  ministered  to  the  physical  needs  of  his  follow¬ 
ers,  for  he  washed  his  disciples’  feet,  directed  them  where 
to  cast  their  fishing  nets,  and  on  one  occasion,  at  least, 
when  they  came  to  shore  wet  and  weary  with  all-night 
fishing  they  found  a  fire  kindled  and  a  hot  breakfast 
awaiting  them.  We  do  not  read  much  about  the  disciples’ 
ministering  to  Jesus;  it  was  rather  he  that  ministered  to 
them. 

When  we  come  to  the  case  of  the  women  who  were 
followers  of  Jesus,  the  case  is  quite  different.  They  were 
a  band  of  ministering  women.  These  women  raised  the 
money  necessary  to  meet  the  needs  of  Jesus  and  his 
disciples.  We  read  of  a  woman  who  washed  the  feet  of 
Jesus  with  her  tears  and  wiped  them  with  her  hair.  It 
was  a  woman  who  broke  the  alabaster  cruse  of  precious 
perfume  that  she  might  anoint  Jesus  as  he  reclined  at 

15 


16  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


meat.  Women  helped  to  take  down  his  body  from  the 
cross  and  to  lay  it  away  in  Joseph’s  sepulcher.  But  the 
woman  who  must  have  ministered  most  to  Jesus  was  his 
mother.  We  do  not  believe  that  we  ought  to  pay  divine 
honor  to  Mary  of  Nazareth,  but  she  is  worthy  of  the 
highest  human  honors.  She,  from  among  all  the  women 
who  have  ever  lived,  was  chosen  to  be  the  mother  of  the 
world’s  Saviour  and  to  guide  his  infant  feet  into  the 
pathways  of  duty  and  service. 

The  Maiden  of  Nazareth.  Luke  1 :26-38.  Although 
Mary  was  of  the  house  of  David,  her  family  were  evi¬ 
dently  people  of  humble  circumstances,  laboring  folk  of 
a  backwoods  town  in  Galilee.  It  was  in  humble  homes 
like  these,  however,  that  the  purity  of  the  Jewish  religion 
had  been  preserved.  It  was  to  a  humble  home  in  this 
quiet  town  that  the  angel  came,  bearing  a  message 
concerning  the  birth  of  the  Son  of  God  into  the  world. 

What  perfection  must  have  been  Mary’s  that  she 
should  be  chosen  for  this  sublime  office!  «We  may  well 
think  of  her  as  being  the  very  highest  product  of  the 
Jewish  race  and  of  the  Old  Testament  religion.  “Fear 
not,  Mary ;  for  thou  hast  found  favor  with  God” — these 
words  assure  us  that  Mary’s  past  life  had  been  such  as  to 
fit  her  for  her  lofty  mission  as  the  mother  of  the  Re¬ 
deemer.  Faith,  courage,  modesty,  and  humble  obedience 
to  God’s  will  are  shov/n  in  her  words  to  the  angel :  “Be¬ 
hold,  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord ;  be  it  unto  me  according 
to  thy  word.” 

Mary’s  Psalm  of  Praise.  Luke  1 :46-55.  The  character 
of  Mary  is  shown  in  the  beautiful  psalm  of  praise  which 
she  uttered  when  she  was  visiting  her  kinswoman,  Elisa¬ 
beth.  Mary  was  a  person  of  no  ordinary  powers  of  mind 
and  heart.  She  had  the  soul  of  a  poetess.  As  we  read 
her  psalm  we  are  impressed  by  the  spirit  of  intense  reli¬ 
gious  fervor  which  runs  through  it.  We  do  not  believe 
that  Mary  uttered  this  wonderful  little  hymn  of  praise  to 
God  in  a  merely  mechanical  way.  We  believe  that  it 
expressed  the  deep  religious  experiences  of  her  soul.  It 
shows  us  that  she  was  a  woman  of  great  intellectual  and 
spiritual  power. 

The  Heart  of  a  Mother.  Luke  2:19,  51.  The  Gospel 
According  to  Luke  gives  us  our  fullest  accounts  con- 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  17 


cerning  Mary.  It  is  probable  that  Luke,  as  he  labored 
to  collect  the  facts  connected  with  the  life  of  Jesus,  either 
met  Mary  herself  and  talked  with  her  or  that  he  met 
some  of  the  women  who  were  closely  associated  with 
Mary.  The  minuteness  with  which  he  describes  events 
connected  with  Mary  and  the  fact  that  he  twice  says  that 
Mary  “kept  all  these  sayings”  in  her  heart,  makes  it 
seem  likely  that  he  knew  the  mother  of  Jesus  and  that 
she  told  him  concerning  the  incidents  in  the  life  of  Jesus 
which  she  had  treasured  in  her  heart  all  through  the 
years. 

The  Problems  of  a  Mother.  Mark  3 :20-35 ;  Luke 
2:48-50;  John  2:1-11.  That  Mary  could  not  fully  under¬ 
stand  her  Son  even  when  he  was  only  a  lad  is  shown  by 
the  account  which  we  have  of  the  finding  of  the  boy 
Jesus  in  the  Temple  when  he  was  twelve  years  old.  We 
are  told  that  Joseph  and  Mary  “understood  not  the  say¬ 
ing  which  he  spake  unto  them.”  At  the  wedding  feast 
in  Cana,  the  same  inability  of  Mary  to  comprehend  Jesus 
is  again  evident.  Nevertheless  she  had  perfect  confidence 
in  him  and  said  to  the  servants,  “Whatsoever  he  saith 
unto  you,  do  it.” 

As  Jesus  began  his  ministry  and  went  forward  in  his 
labor  of  organizing  the  Kingdom  of  God,  nobody  under¬ 
stood  him.  Great  and  wise  leaders  have  always  had  to 
battle  against  this  difficulty  growing  out  of  the  inability 
of  others  to  understand  their  plans  and  methods.  We 
have  seen  how  little  the  disciples  understood  their  Master 
up  to  the  very  end  of  his  ministry.  John  the  Baptist 
could  not  comprehend  the  methods  which  Jesus  was 
using  and  sent  his  disciples  to  ask  whether  Jesus  was 
the  Christ  or  whether  they  should  look  for  another. 

So  we  need  not  be  surprised  to  find  out  that  the  family 
of  Jesus  misunderstood  him  for  a  long  time.  This  lack 
of  sympathy  on  the  part  of  his  relatives  was  probably 
one  of  the  heaviest  burdens  of  Jesus.  He  loved  his 
brothers  and  his  mother,  but  he  must  not  let  their  inabil¬ 
ity  to  understand  his  plans  and  purposes  hinder  his  great 
life  work. 

We  read  that  at  one  time  the  brothers  of  Jesus  urged 
him  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem  on  one  of  the  great  feast  days. 
They  advised  him  to  show  himself  to  the  disciples  in 


18  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Judea,  saying,  “No  man  doeth  anything  in  secret,  and 
himself  seeketh  to  be  known  openly.”  These  brothers  of 
Jesus  wished  him  to  make  some  great  public  demonstra¬ 
tion  of  his  power  which  would  win  him  a  large  following 
and  demonstrate  that  he  was  the  Messiah.  They  were 
evidently  not  ready  to  believe  in  him  themselves,  unless 
he  should  make  some  such  demonstration  of  power  as 
they  advised,  for  we  are  told  that  “even  his  brethren  did 
not  believe  on  him,”  John  7 :5. 

As  the  opposition  to  Jesus  grew,  his  relatives  became 
alarmed.  They  said,  “He  is  beside  himself,”  and  they 
came  down  to  Capernaum  seeking  to  put  him  under 
restraint.  The  mother  of  Jesus  and  his  brothers,  like  the 
other  Jews,  had  long  been  thinking  in  terms  of  a  temporal 
kingdom  and  they  could  not  understand  Jesus’  plans  and 
labors  for  a  spiritual  kingdom.  The  aims  of  Jesus  seemed 
so  impractical  and  so  entirely  strange  that  they  thought 
he  must  be  losing  his  mind  and  that  they  ought  to  take 
him  by  force  and  confine  him  for  a  time. 

The  Faith  of  a  Mother.  John  19:23-27.  The  mystery 
of  it  all  must  have  deepened  for  Mary  as  Jesus  drew 
nearer  to  the  cross.  How  Mary’s  faith  must  have  been 
tested  when  her  Son  was  crucified !  Had  not  the  angel 
said  before  her  Son  was  born,  “He  shall  be  great,  and 
shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the  Most  High:  and  the  Lord 
God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father  David: 
and  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for  ever;  and 
of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end”?  Yet  the  mother 
love  of  Mary  was  triumphant.  She  did  not  forsake  her 
Son.  So  far  as  we  know,  she  offered  no  word  of  reproof. 
She  was  faithful  to  the  end,  even  though  she  could  not 
understand.  She  walked  by  faith  where  she  could  not 
walk  by  sight. 

With  the  Disciples  After  the  Resurrection.  Acts 
1 :12-14.  The  resurrection  of  Jesus  swept  away  the 
clouds  of  mystery  from  the  minds  of  the  followers  of 
Jesus.  Speaking  to  his  fellow  Christians  of  the  Early 
Church,  Peter  said  that  God  had  begotten  them  “again 
unto  a  living  hope  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 
from  the  dead.”  After  the  resurrection  the  disciples 
understood.  They  saw  that  Jesus  had  laid  the  founda¬ 
tions  of  a  Kingdom  far  grander  than  any  of  which  they 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  19 


or  their  forefathers  had  ever  dreamed.  They  saw  that 
he  was  a  King,  indeed,  the  Founder  of  an  everlasting 
Kingdom  which  should  cover  all  the  earth.  We  are  glad 
to  know  that  the  mother  of  Jesus  and  his  brothers  were 
among  this  glad  company  of  disciples  who  banded  them¬ 
selves  together  and  launched  confidently  out  on  their 
sublime  task  of  making  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  the 
Kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  his  Christ. 

A  Chii^d  Widow  of  India 

Chundra  Lela  was  a  little  girl  of  Nepal,  a  country  on 
the  northern  border  of  India.  When  only  seven  years 
old  she  was  married  to  a  little  boy  of  nine,  for  such  is  the 
custom  of  the  land  in  which  Chundra  Lela  lived.  Two 
years  later  the  little  boy  to  whom  Chundra  Lela  was 
married  died.  Now  the  sacred  books  of  the  Hindus  teach 
that  when  a  husband  dies  it  is  because  the  wife  has  com¬ 
mitted  some  terrible  sin.  So  all  the  grown  people  of  the 
household  came  around  the  poor  little  child  widow,  look¬ 
ing  at  her  with  suspicion  and  fierce  anger.  They  said, 
“You  wicked  creature;  this  is  all  your  fault.”  So  they 
tore  the  earrings  from  her  ears,  her  beautiful  bracelets 
were  hammered  off  her  arms,  and  she  became  a  despised 
little  slave,  constantly  kicked  and  cuffed  and  cursed  by 
everyone  who  saw  her,  for  they  all  said,  “She  is  a  wicked, 
wicked  creature,  for  she  caused  her  husband  to  die.”  Do 
you  think  the  Hindu  sacred  books  are  worthy  to  be  com¬ 
pared  with  our  wonderful  Bible  which  tells  us  of  the 
loving  Father  in  heaven,  and  his  Son  who  came  to  save 
the  world  from  the  curse  of  sin?  And  yet  a  certain  pro¬ 
fessor  in  one  of  our  largest  universities  says  that  there 
are  nine  great  bibles  in  the  world.  The  sacred  writings 
of  the  Hindus  is  one  of  the  bibles  in  his  list  and  our 
Bible  is  another.  He  puts  them  all  together  and  says 
that  they  are  all  much  alike. 

Since  everyone  said  so,  Chundra  Lela,  too,  thought 
that  she  was  a  great  sinner.  She  read  all  the  sacred 
books  of  the  Hindus  she  could  secure  for  she  wished  to 
find  out  how  she  could  find  peace  and  forgiveness.  One 
book  said  that  if  anyone  should  make  a  pilgrimage  to 
four  sacred  shrines  of  India,  the  sins  of  that  person  would 


20  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


be  forgiven.  So  Chundra  Lela  determined  to  undertake 
the  long  journey  to  these  distant  shrines  that  she  might 
be  free  from  the  sense  of  guilt  and  gain  the  confidence  of 
those  who  constantly  suspected  and  mistreated  her.  She 
was  only  fifteen  years  old,  but  she  started  out  with  two 
other  companions,  girls  of  her  own  age.  The  journey 
took  seven  years.  When  it  was  ended  nothing  had  been 
gained. 

Chundra  Lela  turned  next  to  other  methods  of  winning 
spiritual  peace.  She  sat  day  after  day  under  the  burning 
sun  of  India  with  five  hot  fires  blazing  near  her.  When 
the  weather  became  cooler  she  went  every  night  into  a 
pond  and  sat  there  with  the  water  up  to  her  neck. 
Through  the  long  night  she  held  in  her  hands  a  string  of 
beads.  Each  of  the  beads  on  the  string  stood  for  the  name 
of  an  idol,  and  there  were  one  hundred  and  eight  of  them. 
During  the  night  she  would  go  over  the  string  of  beads  a 
thousand  times,  touching  each  bead  in  turn  and  calling  on 
the  name  of  the  god  it  represented,  thus  repeating  the 
names  of  the  gods  one  hundred  and  eight  thousand  times 
in  one  night. 

One  day  Chundra  Lela  met  a  woman  of  her  race  who 
had  been  in  a  Christian  school.  This  woman  gave  her  a 
copy  of  the  Bible  in  the  Hindu  language.  Chundra  Lela 
was  charmed  by  the  simple  story  of  a  divine  Saviour  who 
came  to  bring  peace  and  forgiveness  to  all  the  children 
of  men.  She  became  a  Christian  and  a  great  missionary 
to  the  people  of  her  native  land. 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

WOMEN  WHO  HELPED  JESUS  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  HIS 

MINISTRY 

Matt.  27 :55,  56 ;  28  ;1-10 ;  Luke  8  :l-3 ;  John  11  :l-45 

We  have  seen  how  important  was  the  help  which  cer¬ 
tain  women  rendered  Jesus  during  the  days  of  his  min¬ 
istry.  Unfortunately,  we  know  very  little  about  these 
women.  It  is  altogether  probable  that  the  influence  of 
women  over  the  apostolic  company  and  over  the  Early 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  21 


Church  was  far  greater  than  appears  on  the  surface.  It 
is  an  old  and  true  saying  that  back  of  every  truly  great 
man  lies  a  truly  great  mother.  So  we  may  believe  that 
back  of  the  men  whom  Jesus  chose  were  certain  women, 
for  the  most  part  unknown  to  us,  but  none  the  less  potent 
in  the  lives  of  the  men  with  whom  we  have  become 
familiar.  The  mother  of  James  and  Joses  and  the  mother 
of  Zebedee’s  children  were  in  all  probability  as  important 
a  part  of  the  apostolic  company,  as  were  their  sons. 

A  Band  of  Ministering  Women.  Luke  8:1-3.  In  the 
days  of  Jesus  the  expenses  of  travel  were  not  large, 
because  of  the  hospitality  which  was  customary  in  the 
land  of  the  Jews.  Food  and  lodging  would  usually  be 
offered  to  Jesus  and  his  company  without  pay.  Never¬ 
theless,  the  company  must  have  had  some  constant  and 
considerable  expenses.  This  is  suggested  by  the  fact 
that  they  had  a  common  treasury  of  which  Judas  was 
the  custodian.  There  must  have  been  a  considerable 
supply  of  clothing  provided  for  thirteen  men  during  a 
period  of  some  three  years.  There  were  doubtless  many 
times  when  the  disciples  had  to  buy  food.  Such  would 
certainly  be  the  case  on  the  journeys  which  Jesus  made 
with  his  disciples  through  Samaria  and  into  the  northern 
Gentile  territory.  The  buying  of  food  by  the  disciples  is 
mentioned  a  number  of  times  in  the  Gospels. 

We  might  never  have  known  where  the  money  neces¬ 
sary  to  meet  the  needs  of  Jesus  and  his  disciples  came 
from  if  Luke  the  careful  historian  had  not  searched  the 
matter  out.  There  was  a  band  of  women  who  had  be¬ 
come  followers  of  Jesus  and  who  “ministered”  to  him 
“of  their  substance.”  Some  of  these  women  had  been 
healed  by  Jesus  and  their  devotion  to  him  and  to  his 
cause  was  an  expression  of  heartfelt  gratitude  to  their 
Benefactor.  At  least  one  of  them  was  a  woman  from 
the  highest  circles  of  society.  Her  name  was  Joanna  and 
she  was  the  wife  of  Herod’s  steward.  It  is  good  for  us 
to  remember  that  this  little  band  of  grateful  and  conse¬ 
crated  women  made  it  possible  for  Jesus  and  his  twelve 
disciples  to  go  “about  through  cities  and  villages  preach¬ 
ing  and  bringing  the  good  tidings  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.” 

The  Women  Who  Gave  Jesus  a  Home.  Luke 


22  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


10:38-42.  Jesus  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  had  a  home 
after  he  began  his  ministry.  The  family  moved  from 
Nazareth  down  to  Capernaum  soon  after  Jesus  began 
preaching,  but  their  residence  there  seems  to  have  been 
brief.  The  mother  of  Jesus  became  a  member  of  the 
company  which  followed  Jesus  in  his  preaching  trips  and 
she  was  homeless  until,  at  the  request  of  Jesus  on  the 
cross,  the  apostle  John  took  her  to  his  own  house.  There 
was  one  home,  however,  which  was  always  open  to  Jesus, 
the  home  of  Mary  and  Martha  and  Lazarus  in  the  village 
of  Bethany.  These  three  were  among  the  most  intimate 
of  the  friends  of  Jesus.  Their  love  for  Jesus  and  his 
love  for  them  stand  out  as  bright  pictures  against  the 
dark  background  of  Pharisaic  hatreds  and  plottings. 

Last  at  the  Cross.  Matt.  27 :55,  56.  When  Jesus  was 
arrested  in  Gethsemane,  his  disciples  all  ran  away,  though 
later  some  of  them  returned  and  entered  the  house 
where  Jesus  was  on  trial.  But  the  women  who  had  been 
with  Jesus  never  forsook  him.  They  seem  to  have  come 
to  Jesus  as  soon  as  they  heard  that  he  was  in  the  hands  of 
his  enemies.  They  were  at  Calvary  when  Jesus  was 
crucified  and  there  was  a  large  company  of  them.  Mat¬ 
thew  says  that  “many  women  were  there  .  .  .  who  had 
followed  Jesus  from  Galilee,  ministering  unto  him.” 
These  faithful  women  were  present  when  the  body  of 
Jesus  was  placed  in  Joseph’s  sepulcher.  They  sat  and 
watched  after  the  stone  had  been  rolled  across  the 
portal  and  Joseph  of  Arimathaea  had  gone  away  with 
Nicodemus. 

First  at  the  Empty  Tomb.  Matt.  28:1-10.  Some  of 
the  women  of  this  ministering  band  were  the  first  to 
come  to  the  empty  tomb  of  Jesus  on  the  morning  of  the 
resurrection.  They  had  come  with  spices  to  prepare  the 
body  of  Jesus  for  its  permanent  burial,  but  they  found 
that  the  stone  was  rolled  away  and  the  grave  was 
empty.  To  these  women  Jesus  made  his  first  appear¬ 
ance  after  his  resurrection,  bidding  them  go  and  tell  his 
disciples  that  he  was  risen  from  the  dead  and  that  he 
would  appear  to  them  shortly  in  Galilee. 

The  Band  of  Ministering  Women  Becomes  a  Part  of 
the  First  Christian  Church.  Acts  1:14;  12:12-17.  This 
band  of  ministering  women  became  an  important  part 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEO.WERS  OF  JESUS  23 


of  the  Christian  Church  as  it  began  to  take  shape  in 
the  days  following  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  It  became 
a  kind  of  praying  band  from  whose  meetings  the  dis¬ 
ciples  went  out  with  power  and  courage  to  preach  that 
Jesus  was  the  Messiah  and  that  he  had  risen  from  the 
dead.  These  ministering  women  helped  to  make  up 
the  group  in  the  upper  chamber  in  Jerusalem  where  the 
followers  of  Jesus  were  gathered  after  his  ascension. 
They  were  present  when  the  power  of  the  Spirit  came 
on  the  Day  of  Pentecost.  They  were  gathered  in  the 
house  of  Mary,  the  mother  of  John  Mark,  praying  for 
the  safety  of  Peter  when  he  came  knocking  at  the  gate 
after  his  miraculous  escape  from  the  prison  of  Herod. 

A  Courage:ous  Que:e:n  who  Dklivere^d  Hkr  Subje:cts 

FROM  Supe:rstitious  Fear 

When  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church  is  written 
in  full,  it  will  be  seen  that  woman’s  work  in  the  evan¬ 
gelization  of  the  world  has  been  no  less  than  man’s. 
Paul’s  first  convert  to  Christianity  in  Europe  was  a 
woman,  and  many  other  foreign  missionaries  have  had 
experiences  similar  to  that  of  the  great  apostle  to  the 
Gentiles.  The  Hawaiian  Islanders  were  turned  away 
from  idolatry  to  the  Christian  faith  by  the  courage  of  a 
woman. 

For  many  generations  the  people  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  had  worshiped  the  goddess  Pele.  They  believed 
that  she  was  the  goddess  of  fire  and  that  she  had  her 
dwelling  place  in  the  fiery  crater  of  great  Mount 
Kilauea.  When  the  Christian  missionaries  came  to 
Hawaii,  one  of  the  first  to  become  interested  in  the  new 
teaching  was  the  queen,  Kapiolani.  Many  of  the  people 
wished  to  become  Christians  but  they  could  not  break 
away  from  the  superstitious  fears  which  had  bound  their 
ancestors  for  untold  generations.  They  feared  that  they 
would  all  be  consumed  in  the  fire  of  Pele’s  wrath  if 
they  ceased  to  worship  the  dreadful  fire  goddess. 

Kapiolani  determined  to  free  her  people  from  this 
superstitious  fear.  She  announced  that  she  would  go 
boldly  into  the  very  abode  of  Pele  and  defy  her.  If  she 
should  be  consumed  by  the  wrath  of  the  goddess,  the 


24  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


people  were  to  continue  to  worship  Pele,  but  if  she 
escaped  unhurt  the  people  were  to  turn  to  the  worship 
of  Jehovah,  the  God  of  the  missionaries.  Frantic  appeals 
from  her  relatives  and  subjects  could  not  deter  the  cour¬ 
ageous  queen.  She  set  out  across  the  vast  lava  fields 
toward  the  smoking  crater  of  Kilauea.  Some  of  her 
subjects,  trembling  with  fear,  accompanied  her. 

On  the  slopes  of  the  mountain  grew  the  chelo  berries, 
which  were  sacred  to  the  fire  goddess.  No  Hawaiian 
would  think  of  taking  even  one  of  these  berries  unless 
the  consent  of  the  goddess  had  been  announced  by  one 
of  her  priests.  The  people  were  amazed  to  see  the  queen 
gather  these  berries  and  eat  them.  When  they  reached 
the  rim  of  the  crater,  the  queen  went  boldly  down  into 
the  great  smoking  caldron.  She  crossed  over  the  lava 
floor  where  hot  steam  was  spouting  out  of  the  cracks  here 
and  there.  She  came  near  to  the  brink  of  the  great  lake 
of  fire  seething  at  the  center  of  the  crater.  Gathering 
up  fragments  of  rock  she  hurled  them  again  and  again 
into  the  burning  lake  and  uttered  defiance  to  Pele.  Then 
turning  to  her  people  she  said:  “Jehovah  is  my  God. 
He  kindles  these  fires.  I  fear  not  Pele.”  That  day 
marked  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  paganism  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands. 

The  Lesson  Prayer 

> 

We  give  thee  thanks,  our  Father  in  heaven,  for  the 
heroic  women  of  history.  We  are  glad  to  know  that 
there  were  good  women  who  ministered  to  Jesus  in  the 
days  when  he  was  laboring  on  earth  and  that  they 
lightened  his  burdens  through  their  thoughtful  kind¬ 
ness.  We  pray  that  we  may  have  the  same  spirit  of 
helpfulness.  Teach  us  to  be  always  courteous  and  kind. 
Teach  us  how  to  do  our  part  for  the  building  up  of  that 
universal  Kingdom  of  brotherhood  which  Jesus  came  to 
establish  on  earth.  We  ask  in  the  name  of  Christ. 
Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“Father  of  Mercies,  in  Thy  Word.”  “Studies  of  Famil¬ 
iar  Hymns,”  page  191. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  25 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

WOMAN’S  PLACE  IN  THE  PROGRAM  OF  THE 

KINGDOM 

I  Sam.  1:21-28;  2:18,  19 

Our  Scripture  lesson  is  about  one  of  the  godly  and 
devoted  mothers  of  Old  Testament  times.  Hannah  had 
asked  God  to  give  her  a  little  son  and  so  when  he  came 
into  her  home  she  named  him  Samuel  which  in  the 
Hebrew  language  means,  ‘‘name  of  God.”  Hannah  had 
promised  God  that,  if  he  answered  her  prayer  and  gave 
her  a  son,  she  would  give  the  child  back  to  God  and  he 
should  serve  God  all  the  days  of  his  life.  Hannah  did 
not  forget  her  promise.  She  was  a  devoted  mother  and 
made  the  care  of  her  child  her  chief  task  in  life.  She 
would  not  even  go  to  Shiloh  to  the  great  feast  days 
until  her  little  boy  was  old  enough  to  go  with  her. 

When  Samuel  was  still  just  a  little  lad,  probably  four 
or  five  years  old,  his  mother  brought  him  up  to  the  place 
of  worship  at  Shiloh  and  gave  him  into  the  keeping  of 
the  old  priest,  Eli.  We  are  told  that  he  ‘‘ministered 
before  Jehovah,  being  a  child,  girded  with  a  linen 
ephod.” 

Of  course  the  good  mother  did  not  forget  this  little 
son  of  hers,  though  she  had  given  him  to  God  and  placed 
him  under  the  care  of  the  old  priest,  Eli.  She  visited 
him  once  every  year  and  every  time  she  came  she 
brought  him  a  little  robe  which  she  had  made.  How 
eagerly  she  must  have  looked  forward  to  these  yearly 
visits,  and  with  what  care  she  doubtless  beautified  that 
little  garment  which  she  was  making  for  her  son !  With 
such  a  mother  it  is  little  wonder  that  Samuel  grew  up  to 
be  one  of  the  strongest  and  purest  men  the  Hebrew 
nation  ever  possessed.  Mothers  like  Hannah  have  first 
place  in  the  program  of  the  Kingdom. 

Some;  Truths  trom  the;  Le;ssons  W^  Have;  Be;e;n 

Studying 

Women  have  had  a  large  and  important  place  in  the 
Christian  Church  from  the  very  beginning.  Their  place 


26  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


is  not  exactly  like  that  assigned  to  men,  but  it  is  no  less 
important. 

A  little  band  of  consecrated  women  furnished  the 
money  which  made  it  possible  for  Jesus  and  his  apostles 
to  give  all  their  time  to  preaching,  teaching,  and  healing. 
We  can  never  tell  how  much  good  even  small  gifts  may 
do  when  they  are  given  in  the  spirit  of  loving  service. 

The  band  of  ministering  women  who  accompanied 
Jesus  were  moved  to  do  as  they  did  out  of  a  sense  of 
gratitude.  Some  of  them  had  been  healed  by  Jesus, 
others  had  probably  had  loved  ones  saved  from  suffering 
or  death  by  the  power  of  Jesus.  All  had  been  blessed 
by  the  light  of  truth  which  Jesus  brought  to  them  in  his 
teaching  and  in  all  that  he  did.  If  we  have  grateful 
hearts  we  will  do  as  these  women  did,  for  we  have  all 
been  blessed  by  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus. 

There  were  times  when  the  brothers  of  Jesus  and 
even  his  mother  could  not  understand  him.  We  must 
expect  to  find  things  in  the  providence  of  God  which 
we  cannot  understand.  At  such  times  we  will  trust  and 
obey.  The  Christian  life  is  a  life  of  faith. 


Review  Questions 

1.  Why  did  Jesus  choose  only  men  to  be  his  apostles? 

2.  How  did  the  work  of  the  women  in  the  company 
that  followed  Jesus  differ  from  the  work  of  the  men  in 
the  same  company? 

3.  What  qualities  of  character  are  manifest  in  Mary, 
the  mother  of  Jesus? 

4.  Why  could  not  the  mother  of  Jesus  always  under¬ 
stand  her  Son? 

5.  What  effect  did  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  have 
upon  his  followers? 

6.  Name  some  benefits  which  Christianity  has  brought 
to  women. 

7.  Show  that  women  had  an  important  part  in  organ¬ 
izing  the  Christian  Church. 

8.  Tell  briefly  the  story  of  Chundra  Lela;  of 
Kapiolani. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  27 


BiBLI:  Vi:RSES 

Prov.  1:8;  19:26;  23:22;  Isa.  49:15;  Matt.  26:13;  Acts 
9:36;  Rom.  16:1-3;  Eph.  6:2;  II  Tim.  1 :5. 

Study  Topics 

1.  How  a  Good  Woman  Saved  the  House  of  David 
from  Extinction.  H  Kings  11  :1-16. 

2.  How  a  Little  Captive  Maid  Helped  Her  Master. 
II  Kings  5:1-14. 

3.  The  Story  of  Esther. 

4.  The  Story  of  Ruth. 

5.  The  Work  of  the  Women’s  Missionary  Societies. 

6.  What  the  Women’s  Christian  Temperance  Union 
Has  Done  for  the  World. 

7.  Forms  of  Christian  Service  Open  to  Women  as  a 
Life  Work. 

8.  Great  Men  Who  Have  Had  Great  Mothers  (The 
Gracchi,  Lincoln,  Washington,  Luther,  and  others). 

9.  Great  Songs  Written  by  Women  (“Nearer,  My 
God,  to  Thee,”  “Take  My  Life,  and  Let  It  Be,”  “Thine 
Forever!  God  of  Love,”  and  Others). 

10.  The  Debt  We  Owe  to  Our  Mothers. 

Putting  the  Truths  oe  the  Lesson  Into  Practice 

Plan  a  “Mother’s  Service”  to  which  all  mothers  of  the 
congregation  are  invited.  Let  the  class  present  white 
carnations  to  mothers.  Plan  mothers’  outings  for  poor 
families.  Have  a  committee  to  find  out  whether  there 
are  mothers  or  women  in  the  community  who  are  in 
need.  Let  the  class  visit  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  and  learn  of 
the  work  of  that  organization ;  find  out  how  the  class 
can  help  women  and  girls  through  cooperating  with  such 
organizations  as  the  Y,  W.  C.  A. 


CHAPTER  III 

PETER  THE  IMPETUOUS 
WEEK  DAY  SESSION 
PETER  IN  THE  SCHOOL  OF  JESUS 

Matt.  4:18-20;  16:13-20;  26:69-75;  John  1 :35-51 ;  6:66-69; 

21:15-23 

Jesus  chose  widely  different  types  of  men  to  become 
his  apostles.  He  chose  a  publican  who  had  cared  so 
little  for  his  country  and  the  religion  of  his  forefathers 
that  he  had  been  willing  to  be  a  taxgatherer  under  the 
Romans.  He  also  chose  as  a  disciple  one  who  had  been 
a  member  of  a  fiercely  fanatical  party  called  the  Cana- 
nseans.  Matthew  and  Simon  must  have  been  almost 
exact  opposites  in  disposition.  Jesus  was  wise  in  making 
the  selection  he  did,  however,  because  all  types  of  people 
are  needed  in  the  great  task  of  building  God’s  Kingdom 
in  the  world.  Moreover,  when  people  differ  from  one 
another  they  are  able  to  help  one  another;  they  become 
complements  of  one  another. 

Even  the  brothers  in  the  company  of  Jesus  were  widely 
different  in  disposition.  Peter  was  impulsive,  quick  to 
act  and  quick  to  speak.  Andrew,  the  brother  of  Peter, 
was  deliberate  in  all  his  decisions  and  his  acts.  He  was 
thoughtful  and  resourceful,  the  very  kind  of  brother 
Peter  needed. 

Peter’s  First  Meeting  with  Jesus.  John  1 :35-51.  Peter 
and  his  brother  Andrew  were  fishermen  and  they  had 
as  partners  a  man  named  Zebedee,  with  his  two  sons, 
James  and  John.  These  fisherfolk  were  not  people  of 
wealth,  though  they  owned  some  property.  They  were 
hard-working,  honest-hearted  people  of  the  middle  class. 

Peter  and  John,  with  their  associates,  were  patriotic 
and  not  devoid  of  religious  interest,  for  they  quickly 
responded  to  the  messages  of  John  the  Baptist  and 

28 


Copyright  by  Harold  Copping 

PETER  AND  JOHN  AND  THE  LAME  MAN 
GATE  OF  THE  TEM1TJ2 


Harold  Copping 
AT  TFTE 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  29 


became  his  disciples.  John’s  proclamation  of  the  coming 
of  the  Messiah  stirred  the  hearts  of  these  fishermen. 
While  the  Pharisees  were  coldly  criticizing  John  and 
sending  delegations  to  ask  him  all  sorts  of  questions, 
these  warm-hearted  Galilaeans  had  accepted  him  as  a 
prophet  and  were  eagerly  looking  forward  to  the  coming 
Deliverer. 

The  day  after  Jesus  was  baptized,  John  the  Baptist 
was  standing  with  two  of  his  disciples,  Andrew  and 
John,  the  son  of  Zebedee.  As  Jesus  passed  within  sight 
of  the  three,  John  the  Baptist  said  to  his  two  disciples, 
“Behold,  the  Lamb  of  God !”  The  two  disciples  under¬ 
stood  what  John  meant;  they  knew  that  he  had  pointed 
Jesus  out  as  the  Messiah  whose  coming  he  had  been 
foretelling.  Eagerly  the  two  men  followed  Jesus  at  a 
little  distance.  Jesus  turned  and,  seeing  them,  said, 
“What  seek  ye?”  Thus  the  two  became  acquainted  with 
Jesus  and  spent  the  day  with  him.  Andrew  must  have 
been  persuaded  by  that  day  of  fellowship  with  Jesus 
that  John  the  Baptist  had  not  been  mistaken.  He  went 
out  and  found  his  brother  Simon  and  said  to  him,  “We 
have  found  the  Messiah.”  Then  he  brought  his  brother 
to  Jesus.  Jesus  accepted  Simon  as  one  of  his  disciples 
and  changed  his  name  to  Cephas,  or  Peter. 

Peter  was  just  as  sure  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah  as 
his  brother  had  been,  for  the  very  next  day  he  found 
an  acquainttance  from  his  home  town  and  brought  him 
to  Jesus.  The  name  of  this  friend  of  Peter  was  Philip 
and  Jesus  said  to  him,  “Follow  me.”  Philip  was  equally 
prompt  in  his  efforts  to  bring  others  to  know  the  Messiah 
and  before  the  day  was  over  he  had  brought  his  friend, 
Nathanael,  to  Jesus.  So,  within  a  few  hours  after  his 
baptism,  Jesus  had  with  him  five  of  the  men  who  were 
to  be  with  him  through  all  the  days  of  his  ministry. 

Called  to  Become  a  Fisher  of  Men.  Matt.  4:18-20. 
These  five  men  did  not  at  once  leave  their  customary 
occupation  and  spend  all  their  time  with  Jesus.  They 
returned  to  their  homes  and  to  their  fishing.  It  was 
not  long,  however,  before  they  were  called  away  to  give 
all  their  time  to  being  with  Jesus. 

One  day  as  Jesus  was  walking  along  the  Sea  of  Galilee, 


30  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


he  saw  Peter  and  Andrew  casting  a  net  into  the  water. 
He  called  to  them  saying,  “Come  ye  after  me,  and  I 
will  make  you  fishers  of  men.”  The  brothers  knew  what 
the  call  meant  and  leaving  their  nets  they  gladly  followed 
Jesus. 

Faithful  to  Jesus  in  the  Hour  of  Adversity.  John 
6 :66-69. 

The  multitudes  were  determined  to  have  Jesus  as  their 
king,  even  if  they  had  to  take  him  and  make  him  king 
by  force.  The  disciples  were  probably  looking  forward 
eagerly  to  the  time  when  Jesus  would  issue  a  proclama¬ 
tion  heralding  himself  as  the  Messianic  King  and  they 
were  probably  in  sympathy  with  the  purposes  of  the 
multitude.  But  Jesus  refused  to  be  the  kind  of  king 
the  people  wished  him  to  be. 

From  that  time  the  popularity  of  Jesus  began  to 
wane.  Many  of  his  professed  followers  “walked  no  more 
with  him.”  The  time  came  when  there  were  just  the 
twelve  disciples  and  a  few  others  who  remained  faithful 
to  Jesus.  Turning  to  the  Twelve,  Jesus  said  to  them, 
“Would  ye  also  go  away?”  It  was  then  that  impulsive, 
warm-hearted  Peter  replied :  “Lord,  to  whom  shall  we 
go?  thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life.  And  we  have 
believed  and  know  that  thou  art  the  Holy  One  of  God.” 

The  Great  Confession.  Matt.  16:13-20.  The  disciples 
had  at  first  accepted  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  on  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  John  the  Baptist.  Later,  their  own  acquaint¬ 
ance  with  Jesus  persuaded  them  that  John  the  Baptist 
was  not  mistaken.  But  months  passed  by  and  Jesus 
did  not  tell  them  that  he  was  the  Messiah.  He  did 
many  things  which  they  could  not  understand.  He  left 
undone  many  things  they  were  sure  the  Messiah  would 
do.  Jesus  knew  that  their  decision  in  the  matter  must 
be  their  very  own.  He  knew  that  no  shallow  and  hasty 
conclusion  would  suffice,  that  their  belief  in  him  as  the 
Saviour  of  the  world  must  be  based  on  personal  knowl¬ 
edge  of  him  and  the  deepest  convictions  of  their  hearts, 
if  it  were  to  stand  the  terrific  testing  which  was  in  store 
for  his  followers. 

At  the  foot  of  great  Mount  Hermon  the  disciples  made 
their  final  avowal  of  their  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Son  of 
God  and  Saviour  of  the  world,  and  Peter  was  their 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  31 


spokesman.  “Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God,”  said  Peter,  and  his  words  made  Jesus  glad. 

Peter  Denies  His  Lord.  Matt.  26:69-75.  A  severe 
testing  of  the  disciples’  faith  came  immediately  after 
Peter’s  confession,  for  Jesus  told  them  that  he  was  soon 
to  be  delivered  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies  and  cruci¬ 
fied.  This  was  almost  too  much  for  Peter  and  he  re¬ 
buked  Jesus  for  saying  such  things  and  declared  that 
these  things  should  never  take  place. 

When  Jesus  was  arrested  in  the  Garden,  Peter  tried 
to  make  good  his  boast  that  he  was  ready  to  die  rather 
than  see  his  Master  delivered  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies.  He  drew  his  sword  and  struck  out  at  one  of 
the  foremost  of  the  advancing  throng,  which  happened 
to  be  the  servant  of  the  high  priest.  Jesus  would  not 
permit  Peter  to  continue  the  fight,  however,  and  so  he 
fled  with  the  other  disciples.  After  a  while  Peter  turned 
and  followed  Jesus  and  his  captors  to  the  palace  of  the 
high  priest.  He  ventured  later  into  a  company  of  people 
who  were  warming  themselves  about  a  fire  in  the  court. 
Here  a  young  girl  accused  him  of  being  one  of  the 
disciples  of  Jesus.  Peter  was  alone,  cold,  discouraged, 
and  desperate.  He  denied  that  he  knew  Jesus.  Later 
the  accusation  was  repeated  and  Peter  becoming  panic- 
stricken  began  to  curse  saying  that  he  did  not  know  the 
man. 

An  Indian  Convert  Who  Fetd  and  Rose  Again 

Legaic  was  a  chief  of  the  Tsimshian  tribe  in  the  north¬ 
western  part  of  British  Columbia.  He  was  a  cruel  and 
bloodthirsty  savage  and  on  one  occasion  had  shot  down 
an  unarmed  and  inoffensive  Haida  Indian  in  the  presence 
of  William  Duncan,  the  missionary  stationed  then  at 
Fort  Simpson.  His  only  excuse  was  that  the  chief  of 
the  Haida  tribe  had  not  shown  proper  recognition  of  his 
rank  as  chief  of  the  Tsimshians. 

On  another  occasion  when  Mr.  Duncan  had  refused 
to  close  his  school  at  his  request,  Legaic  came  into  the 
schoolroom  brandishing  a  knife,  and  would  doubtless 
have  killed  the  missionary  had  not  a  faithful  Indian 


32  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


helper  been  present,  with  a  loaded  pistol  to  keep  the 
furious  chief  at  bay. 

But  Legaic  gradually  grew  interested  in  the  Christian 
faith.  The  story  of  Jesus  gripped  him.  He  came  to  the 
missionary  and  wished  to  become  a  candidate  for  bap¬ 
tism  into  the  Christian  Church. 

Mr.  Duncan  had  built  up  a  settlement  of  Christian 
Indians  at  Metlakatla,  where  they  could  be  protected 
from  the  evil  influences  at  Fort  Simpson.  Legaic  came 
to  this  settlement  to  make  it  his  home  and  to  prepare 
himself  for  admission  into  the  Church.  Perhaps  he  had 
not  fully  understood  what  he  must  give  up  in  order  to 
be  a  Christian.  At  Fort  Simpson  he  was  a  chief,  but 
at  Metlakatla  he  was  no  more  than  the  others.  No 
chieftainships  were  recognized  there.  His  pagan  friends 
kept  urging  him  to  come  back  and  be  their  chief.  They 
begged  him  to  take  part  in  their  pagan  dances  and  reli¬ 
gious  ceremonials.  Legaic  had  been  used  to  these  hon¬ 
ors  all  his  life  and  the  wild  Indian  dances  were  like 
second  nature  to  him.  He  began  to  attend  the  dances 
occasionally.  When  Mr.  Duncan  heard  of  this,  he  ad¬ 
vised  Legaic  to  stop  trying  to  be  a  Christian  and  a  pagan 
at  the  same  time  and  told  him  to  go  back  to  his  tribe  at 
Fort  Simpson.  So  Legaic  went.  He  stayed  just  three 
days,  then  he  came  back  to  Mr.  Duncan’s  settlement. 
He  looked  dejected  and  broken-hearted.  He  begged  to 
be  allowed  to  stay  and  promised  never  again  to  take  part 
in  the  pagan  ceremonials.  He  made  good  in  his  resolves. 
The  following  year  he  was  baptized  and  became  one  of 
the  most  earnest  workers  in  all  that  part  of  Canada. 
Through  his  labors  many  pagan  Indians  were  led  to 
accept  the  religion  of  Jesus. 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

PETER  AS  AN  APOSTLE  OF  THE  RISEN  SAVIOUR 

John  21:15-23;  Acts  2:14-36;  4:1-22;  ch.  10 

Peter  was  impulsive  and  he  often  made  serious  blun¬ 
ders.  Nevertheless,  he  was  deeply  loyal  to  Jesus  as  his 
Teacher  and  Leader,  and  he  was  willing  to  be  taught. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  33 


There  are  great  opportunities  for  spiritual  development 
in  any  person  who  is  a  follower  of  Jesus  and  who  is 
loyal  to  him  and  anxious  to  learp  the  lessons  he  has  to 
impart.  In  this  lesson  we  shall  sfee  Peter’s  life  and  char¬ 
acter  bearing  fruit,  because  he  had  learned  lessons  in  the 
school  of  Jesus  and  had  become  in  some  measure  like 
his  Teacher. 

Peter’s  Repentance  and  Restoration.  John  21 :15-23. 
The  hours  when  Jesus  was  in  the  tomb  were  dark  and 
terrible  hours  for  Peter.  All  his  hopes  had  perished  with 
the  Master  whom  he  loved.  He  had  not  even  been  able 
to  give  his  life  in  the  defense  of  his  Teacher,  but  had 
miserably  failed  and  denied  his  Lord. 

Peter  had  denied  his  Lord  three  times.  After  the 
resurrection  he  met  Jesus  by  the  Sea  of  Galilee  where 
three  times  he  solemnly  pledged  his  love  and  loyalty 
to  Jesus  and  was  given  the  responsibility  and  task  of 
feeding  the  lambs  and  tending  the  sheep  of  the  little 
flock  which  Jesus  was  leaving  behind  him. 

Peter’s  Great  Sermon  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost.  Acts 
2:14-36.  The  experience  of  Pentecost  made  a  profound 
change  in  Peter.  The  plans  of  God  became  clear  to  him. 
He  saw  how  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  were  in 
exact  harmony  with  all  that  the  prophets  had  taught. 
But  there  was  something  more  than  a  new  intellectual 
grasp  of  God’s  plans  in  Peter’s  case ;  he  was  also  changed 
in  character.  He  became  courageous.  He  was  no  longer 
the  weakling  who  denied  his  Lord  because  a  girl  accused 
him  of  being  a  follower  of  Jesus.  He  boldly  proclaimed 
that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah  for  whom  the  Hebrew 
people  had  been  praying.  He  risked  his  life,  when  he 
preached  a  public  sermon  in  which  he  said  to  a  multi¬ 
tude  of  Jewish  people,  “Let  all  the  house  of  Israel  there¬ 
fore  know  assuredly,  that  God  hath  made  him  both  Lord 
and  Christ,  this  Jesus  whom  ye  crucified.” 

Peter  and  John  Before  the  Sanhedrin.  Acts  4:1-22. 
One  day  as  Peter  and  John  were  going  into  the  Temple 
to  a  service  of  prayer  which  was  held  there  every  day, 
they  noticed  a  lame  beggar  by  the  gate.  This  poor  fel¬ 
low,  as  is  the  way  with  beggars,  was  quick  to  note  any¬ 
one  who  paid  him  the  least  attention,  having  learned 
that  this  was  a  sign  that  an  alms  might  be  forthcoming. 


34  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


When  Peter  and  John  paused  to  look  at  him,  the  lame 
man  eagerly  asked  for  a  gift  of  money.  The  two  dis¬ 
ciples  had  no  money  to  give,  but  Peter,  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  healed  the  man  of  his  lameness. 

This  healing  of  the  lame  man  brought  together  a  great 
crowd  of  people  and  the  disciples  seized  the  opportunity 
to  tell  the  multitudes  about  Jesus.  Their  discourse  was 
interrupted  by  the  coming  of  a  company  of  priests  and 
Sadducees  with  the  officers  of  the  Temple.  The  disciples 
were  seized  and  brought  before  the  high  Jewish  court 
called  the  sanhedrin.  The  priests  had  not  arrived  soon 
enough,  however,  to  defeat  the  preaching  of  the  apostles, 
for  many  who  had  heard  their  words  believed  and  the 
number  of  believers  was  increased  to  about  five 
thousand. 

We  are  surprised  to  find  that  the  officials  who  had 
been  so  vigorous  in  their  efforts  to  destroy  Jesus  now 
acted  in  a  hesitating  and  weak  way.  This  may  have 
been  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  the  followers  of  Jesus 
now  numbered  more  than  five  thousand  people.  It  was 
also  probably  due  in  part  to  the  notable  miracle  wrought 
by  Peter  and  John.  The  change  in  their  attitude  is  more 
largely  due,  we  must  believe,  however,  to  the  events 
which  accompanied  and  followed  the  crucifixion  of 
Jesus.  These  Jewish  leaders  had  seen  the  darkness  over 
the  earth  when  Jesus  was  on  the  cross.  They  had  felt  the 
earthquake  shocks.  They  had  heard  the  story  of  the 
terrified  soldiers  who  had  kept  watch  at  the  tomb ; 
how  an  angel  had  descended  and  rolled  away  the  stone. 
They  had  bribed  the  soldiers  to  give  another  account  of 
the  matter,  but  they  could  not  thus  deceive  themselves. 
They  knew  that  the  tomb  was  empty  and  its  emptiness 
made  cowards  of  them  all. 

In  striking  contrast  to  this  timidity  of  the  Jews  is  the 
courage  of  the  disciples.  At  first  the  leaders  could  not 
understand  how  it  could  be  that  these  unlettered  Gali- 
laean  fishermen  could  have  the  wisdom  to  interpret 
Scripture  in  such  a  way  as  to  persuade  thousands.  They 
could  not  understand  how  these  peasants  could  dare  thus 
set  at  naught  the  powers  of  the  times.  They  talked  it 
over  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  these  men  had 
been  with  Jesus. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  35 


Peter  Gains  a  Higher  Air  and  a  Broader  View.  Acts, 
ch.  10.  Peter  had  been  brought  up  as  a  strict  observer 
of  Jewish  customs.  He  had  been  taught  that  there  were 
certain  kinds  of  meat  he  must  never  eat;  that  he  must 
be  very  careful  as  to  his  associations  with  Gentiles ;  that 
he  must  not  eat  with  them,  nor  enter  their  houses  except 
under  certain  conditions.  Even  after  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus,  Peter  still  kept  up  the  customs  he  had  been 
taught  as  a  boy.  He  was  not  sure  as  to  just  how  Gen¬ 
tiles  were  to  become  followers  of  Jesus.  He  seemed 
to  think  that  they  must  first  become  Jews  and  learn 
to  keep  all  the  customs  which  the  Jews  deemed  so  im¬ 
portant. 

It  took  some  special  lessons  to  set  these  matters  right 
in  Peter’s  mind.  One  day,  as  he  was  sitting  on  the  cool 
housetop  veranda  of  a  friend  in  the  city  of  Joppa,  he  fell 
into  a  trance.  He  saw  a  vision  in  which  a  great  sheet 
was  let  down  from  heaven.  In  the  sheet  were  all  kinds 
of  animals  and  birds  and  other  living  creatures.  Many 
of  these  creatures  Peter  had  been  accustomed  to  believe 
were  unclean ;  that  is,  that  they  were  never  to  be  eaten 
by  a  worshiper  of  the  true  God.  But  now  there  came 
a  voice  saying  to  him,  “Rise,  Peter;  kill  and  eat.”  When 
Peter  protested  that  he  had  never  eaten  anything  com¬ 
mon  or  unclean,  the  answer  came  back,  “What  God  hath 
cleansed,  make  not  thou  common.” 

The  vision  was  sent  for  a  purpose.  In  just  a  little 
while  messengers  arrived  from  a  Roman  captain  asking 
Peter  to  come  to  his  house.  Because  he  had  seen  the 
vision,  Peter  went  to  the  house  of  this  Roman.  He 
preached  to  the  inmates  and  they  received  the  message, 
becoming  professed  followers  of  Jesus.  Thus  Peter 
learned  that  “God  is  no  respecter  of  persons.” 

Last  Days  of  the  Great  Disciple.  Jesus  had  predicted 
that  Peter,  when  he  had  grown  old,  would  suffer  im¬ 
prisonment  and  death  for  the  Christian  faith.  John 
21 :18,  19.  This  prophecy  of  Jesus  seems  to  have  been 
fulfilled  about  a.  d.  68  when  according  to  traditions 
Peter  was  put  to  death  in  Rome  under  the  rule  of  Nero. 
Before  laying  down  his  life  for  the  Christian  faith,  Peter 
had  labored  many  years  in  Asia  Minor  and  perhaps  in 
Italy.  Under  the  influence  of  Jesus,  his  life  had  become 


36  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


great  and  useful  and  the  influence  of  his  labors  and  his 
character  and  his  writings  will  never  end. 

A  M1RAC1.E  OR  Redeeming  Grace 

Since  this  is  a  true  story,  we  will  not  call  the  person 
concerning  whom  it  is  told  by  his  real  name.  We  will 
call  him  Charles  Bertram.  Charles  was  a  young  man  of 
unusual  ability.  During  his  college  course  at  Yale  he  so 
impressed  the  authorities  of  the  university  that  they 
selected  him  for  a  professorship  in  that  institution.  He 
was  sent  to  Europe  in  order  that  he  might  attend  some 
of  the  great  schools  there  in  further  preparation  for  his 
life  work. 

In  Germany  he  met  a  daughter  of  one  of  America’s 
merchant  princes.  They  became  friends  and  later  they 
were  married.  Bertram  decided  to  study  theology  in¬ 
stead  of  preparing  himself  for  teaching.  He  spent  sev¬ 
eral  years  in  postgraduate  work  in  some  of  the  largest 
universities  of  Europe.  Coming  back  to  America,  he 
was  made  assistant  pastor  of  a  large  church  in  New 
York  City.  He  became  a  member  of  many  of  the  leading 
clubs  of  the  metropolis  and  was  thus  associated  with 
many  of  the  famous  men  of  the  country.  In  these  clubs 
liquor  was  offered  freely.  Like  many  of  the  other  mem¬ 
bers,  young  Bertram  became  accustomed  to  its  use. 

Called  to  one  of  the  large  churches  of  his  denomina¬ 
tion,  Mr.  Bertram  seemed  ready  to  enter  upon  a  most 
useful  and  brilliant  career.  For  a  time  he  was  highly 
successful  both  as  a  preacher  and  as  a  pastor.  After  a 
time,  however,  he  found  the  burdens  of  his  office  telling 
on  his  strength.  He  kept  a  flask  of  Scotch  whisky  in 
his  study  and  found  that  he  felt  the  need  for  its  stimu¬ 
lating  effects  more  and  more.  He  awoke  to  the  fact  that 
he  could  neither  prepare  nor  deliver  his  sermons  with¬ 
out  the  artificial  stimulation  born  of  alcoholic  drink. 
He  tried  to  break  away,  but  he  found  that  he  was  a 
slave. 

One  night  the  young  minister  told  his  wife  that  he 
was  going  away  for  a  time ;  that  he  would  seek  out  some 
retired  community  where  he  could  live  quietly  and  over¬ 
come  the  appetite  which  had  mastered  him.  In  spite  of 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  37 


the  protests  of  his  wife  and  children  he  went  away.  He 
became  a  school-teacher  on  the  frontier  of  Canada,  but 
he  did  not  gain  the  victory  he  sought.  He  drifted  from 
one  community  to  another.  He  became  a  wandering, 
drunken  tramp,  sank  into  crime,  and  was  sent  to  a  state 
prison  where  he  spent  a  term  of  years.  As  an  ex-convict 
he  came  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  earned  a  few  drinks 
a  day  by  cleaning  cuspidors  in  the  saloons. 

One  night,  a  hopeless  moral  and  physical  wreck,  he 
entered  a  mission.  He  heard  the  old,  old  gospel  mes¬ 
sage,  he  felt  the  pressure  of  a  kindly  brotherly  arm 
thrown  about  him.  He  heard  words  that  told  him  of  the 
way  back  to  God  and  purity  and  usefulness,  he  was 
saved  from  the  power  of  evil  appetite  so  that  he  never 
again  fell  before  his  besetting  temptation.  The  rest  of 
his  life  is  being  lived  in  happy,  useful  service. 

The  Lesson  Prayer 

Our  kind  and  patient  Father  in  heaven,  we  know  that 
thou  art  able  to  help  us  when  we  make  spiritual  blun¬ 
ders.  Even  when  we  are  willfully  disobedient,  thou  art 
persevering  in  thy  efforts  to  bring  us  to  the  better  way. 
Grant  that  thy  goodness  may  lead  us  to  true  repentance 
for  our  sins.  Give  us  an  increasing  victory  over  every 
form  of  evil.  Grant  that  our  lives  may  not  be  marred 
by  continual  moral  blundering.  Help  us  to  be  strong, 
steadfast,  and  true.  We  ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  thy 
Son.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“Shepherd  of  Tender  Youth.”  “Studies  of  Familiar 
Hymns,”  page  243. 

expressional  session 

A  SOULS  RECOVERY  FROM  SPIRITUAL  STUMBLING 

Psalm  51 

Our  Scripture  lesson  is  David’s  earnest  plea  for  "resto¬ 
ration  and  forgiveness  after  his  great  sin.  Jesus  alone 
lived  a  perfect  life  on  earth.  All  others  who  have  sought 


38  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


for  the  way  of  righteousness  have  had  the  experiences 
arising  out  of  spiritual  stumbling.  They  have  been  under 
the  necessity  of  repenting,  seeking  forgiveness,  and  be¬ 
ing  restored  to  the  place  from  which  they  have  slipped. 
A  study  of  the  causes  and  cures  of  spiritual  stumbling 
ought  to  be  helpful,  therefore,  to  all  who  are  striving 
to  be  followers  of  Jesus. 

Some  Truths  erom  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

It  is  well  for  us  to  remember  that  Peter  denied  his 
Lord  after  he  had  been  following  him  from  afar.  If  he 
had  kept  close  to  Jesus,  he  might  have  avoided  the 
spiritual  downfall  which  came  to  him. 

One  of  the  most  frequent  causes  of  spiritual  stumbling 
is  overconfidence  in  self.  Peter  was  sure  that  he  would 
never  deny  Jesus,  so  sure  that  he  said  he  would  not  deny 
his  Teacher  even  though  he  had  to  die  with  him.  Jesus 
had  been  praying  for  Peter  that  his  faith  should  not 
fail.  Perhaps  Peter’s  self-confidence  kept  him  from 
praying  for  himself. 

We  ought  never  to  give  up  our  efforts  to  live  the 
Christian  life  because  we  make  spiritual  blunders.  On 
the  other  hand,  we  should  become  more  determined  than 
ever  in  our  efforts  to  become  spiritual  conquerors.  Be¬ 
cause  a  man  stumbles  and  falls  on  the  deck  of  an  Atlantic 
steamer,  it  is  not  necessary  for  him  to  fall  off  the  ship. 

Spiritual  blunders  may  bring  us  certain  blessings. 
They  make  us  humble.  They  help  us  to  overcome  undue 
self-confidence.  They  may  give  us  a  sense  of  gratitude 
to  God  and  lead  to  a  closer  walk  with  him.  Neverthe¬ 
less,  if  we  find  ourselves  making  constant  spiritual  blun¬ 
ders,  we  should  be  gravely  concerned.  No  great,  strong, 
and  useful  life  can  be  built  up  in  that  way.  Such  a  life 
of  constant  spiritual  stumblings  would  not  be  a  life  of 
much  spiritual  progress.  Too  much  time  and  effort 
would  be  wasted  in  recovering  lost  ground. 

Peter  denied  his  Lord  once,  but  ever  afterward  was 
true  to  him.  We  cannot  afford  to  go  on  making  spiri¬ 
tual  blunders  again  and  again. 

A  spiritual  blunder  is  not  an  accident,  but  a  choice. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  39 


So  we  have  to  do  something  more  than  get  up  and  try 
again.  We  need  to  repent  of  the  wrong  choice  and  seek 
the  forgiveness  of  the  God  against  whom  we  have  sinned. 

Review  Questions 

1.  Why  did  Jesus  choose  such  different  types  of  men 
to  become  his  disciples? 

2.  Tell  of  Peter’s  first  meeting  with  Jesus. 

3.  Why  did  not  Jesus  tell  his  disciples  that  he  was 
the  Messiah? 

4.  How  did  the  announcement  of  the  approaching 
death  of  Jesus  affect  Peter? 

5.  What  effect  did  the  transfiguration  have  on  the 
the  three  disciples  who  witnessed  it? 

6.  Why  did  Peter  say  he  did  not  know  Jesus? 

7.  Tell  the  story  of  Legaic. 

8.  What  change  did  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  make 
in  the  character  of  Peter? 

9.  Tell  how  Peter  gained  a  broader  view  of  the  mis¬ 
sion  of  Christianity  than  he  had  ever  possessed  before. 

10.  What  lesson  do  you  learn  from  the  story  of 
Charles  Bertram? 

Bibee  Verses 

Ps.  37:23,  24;  Prov.  3:21-23;  16:18;  Isa.  5:27;  28:7; 
59 :9,  10 ;  Micah  7 :7,  8 ;  I  Cor.  10:12;  II  Peter  1 :10 ;  Jude 
24,  25. 

Study  Topics 

1.  The  Council  of  Jerusalem  and  Peter’s  Part  in  It. 
Acts  15  :l-29. 

2.  Peter  Criticized  for  Eating  with  Gentiles.  Acts 
11  :1-18. 

3.  Spiritual  Blunders  of  the  Youthful  Jacob.  Gen. 
27:18-29. 

4.  Explain  What  Jesus  Meant  in  John  11 :7-10. 

5.  Some  Causes  of  Spiritual  Stumbling. 

6.  The  Cure  for  Spiritual  Stumbling.  I  John  1 :7. 

7.  How  We  Stumble  in  Word.  James  3:2. 

8.  The  Danger  of  Stumbling  in  Things  Apparently 
Unimportant  (Telling  “White  Lies,”  Speaking  Evil  of 
Those  Absent;  et  cetera). 


40  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


9.  Stumbling  from  Which  There  Is  No  Recovery, 
Mark  3  :28-30. 

10.  The  Christian’s  Safeguard  Against  Irretrievable 
Stumbling.  John  10:27-29. 

Putting  the  Truths  of  the  Lesson  Into  Practice 

Many  of  the  men  and  women  who  have  attained  to 
strong  and  noble  Christian  character  have  made  it  the 
habit  of  their  lives  to  review  the  events  of  each  day  just 
before  they  give  themselves  to  the  slumbers  of  the  night. 
They  have  carefully  noted  the  little  stumblings  of  the 
day.  Here  a  word  was  uttered  which  was  not  quite 
kind.  Here  a  task  was  not  so  well  accomplished  as  it 
might  have  been.  Here  an  opportunity  to  do  good  was 
allowed  to  slip  away.  These  men  and  women  have  noted 
these  little  failures  and  have  repented  of  them  in  this 
“Quiet  Hour”  which  they  spend  with  God  at  the  close 
of  the  day.  Then  the  next  morning  they  have  looked 
forward,  determined  to  learn  from  the  mistakes  of 
yesterday.  Thus,  little  by  little  they  have  built  up  per¬ 
sonalities  which  are  modeled  after  the  perfect  person¬ 
ality  of  Jesus. 


CHAPTER  IV 

PETER  AS  A  NEW  TESTAMENT  WRITER 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

PETER’S  IDEAS  AS  TO  WHAT  THE  FOLLOWERS  OF 

JESUS  SHOULD  BE 

I  Peter,  chs.  1  to  3 

In  addition  to  his  labors  as  a  preacher  and  organizer 
of  churches,  Peter  found  time  to  write  letters  to  Chris¬ 
tians  in  lands  distant  from  those  in  which  he  was  labor¬ 
ing.  Two  pf  these  letters  have  been  preserved,  in  the  New 
Testament.  Even  if  Peter  had  not  stated  in  these  letters 
that  he  was  the  writer  of  them,  we  might  have  suspected 
it.  In  his  letters  he  shows  himself  to  be  the  same  energetic 
and  impulsive  person  that  we  have  come  to  know  in  the 
Gospel  narratives.  He  is  no  longer,  however,  the  weak 
and  changeful  person  who  once  denied  his  Lord.  He  has 
become  strong  through  his  fellowship  with  Jesus  and 
through  years  of  labor  in  the  service  of  his  Master. 

Jesus  seems  to  have  seen  these  possibilities  in  Peter 
from  the  first.  At  their  first  meeting  Jesus  had  said  to 
him,  “Thou  art  Simon  the  son  of  John:  thou  shalt  be 
called  Cephas.”  The  name  Cephas,  which  in  its  Latin 
form  is  Peter,  means  a  stone.  Jesus  seems  to  have 
known  that  this  apparently  fickle-minded  fisherman  was 
capable  of  becoming  an  immovable  foundation  stone  on 
whom  he  could  build  his  Church  and  his  Kingdom.  Even 
when  he  knew  that  Peter  would  soon  deny  him,  Jesus 
still  kept  his  faith  in  his  disciple.  He  had  prayed  that 
Peter’s  faith  might  not  utterly  fail  in  the  hour  of  trial, 
and  he  said  to  Peter,  “When  once  thou  hast  turned 
again,  establish  thy  brethren,”  Luke  22:32.  As  we  read 
these  letters  of  Peter  we  see  that  the  confidence  of  Jesus 
was  not  misplaced  when  he  chose  Peter  and  held  to  him 
perseveringly  in  spite  of  Peter’s  many  stumblings. 

Peter  Was  a  Bible  Student.  These  letters  of  Peter 
show  us  that  Peter  was  a  student  of  the  Bible.  His 


41 


42  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


writings  are  full  of  Scripture  quotations.  He  quotes 
passages  from  Leviticus,  Isaiah,  the  Psalms,  and  The 
Proverbs,  as  well  as  from  certain  books  which  are  not 
now  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  Bible,  and  are  called  the 
Apocrypha.  It  is  almost  certain,  also,  that  he  was  famil¬ 
iar  with  Paul’s  letter  to  the  Romans  and  to  the  Ephe¬ 
sians,  as  well  as  The  Epistle  of  James.  Peter’s  ready 
quotations  from  the  Old  Testament  are  probably  due  to 
the  fact  that  as  a  boy  he  had  committed  long  passages 
of  Scripture  to  memory  and  had  continued  to  study  these 
passages  all  his  life.  His  familiarity  with  portions  of 
the  New  Testament  shows  that  he  was  abreast  of  the 
times  and  eager  to  gather  information  from  all  available 
sources. 

Without  attempting  an  extensive  study  of  these  letters 
of  Peter,  we  will  try,  in  this  lesson,  to  gather  out  some  of 
the  things  he  has  to  say  to  the  Christians  of  his  day  on 
the  subject  of  “What  a  Follower  of  Jesus  Ought  to  Be.” 

Happy  and  Hopeful.  I  Peter  1 :3-12.  Although  the 
people  to  whom  Peter  wrote  were  undergoing  “manifold 
trials,”  Peter  nevertheless,  urged  them  to  rejoice.  The 
ground  for  this  great  rejoicing,  Peter  says,  is  the  resur¬ 
rection  of  Jesus  from  the  dead.  After  Jesus  had  risen,  it 
was  impossible  for  Peter  to  be  really  unhappy  any  more, 
and  he  sees  that  if  these  Christians  in  distant  lands 
really  believe  in  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  and  catch  its 
full  significance,  they,  like  him,  will  be  able  to  rejoice, 
no  matter  what  their  circumstances  may  be.  This  hap¬ 
piness,  Peter  says,  belongs  to  all  Christians  and  not 
merely  to  those  who  have  seen  Jesus  in  the  flesh.  Love 
for  Christ  and  faith  in  him  are  the  great  essentials  for 
the  gaining  of  true  Christian  happiness. 

Obedient  and  Pure.  I  Peter  1 :13-25.  Peter  goes  on  to 
point  out  that  this  happy  hope  of  the  Christian  must 
of  necessity  be  accompanied  by  purity  of  life  and  obe¬ 
dience  to  Jesus  Christ.  Nothing  less  than  perfect  obe¬ 
dience  and  entire  purity  of  life  is  worthy  of  those  who 
have  been  “redeemed,  not  with  corruptible  things,  with 
silver  or  gold,  from  your  vain  manner  of  life  handed 
down  from  your  fathers ;  but  with  precious  blood,  as  of 
a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot,  even  the 
blood  of  Christ.” 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  43 


“A  Holy  Priesthood.”  I  Peter,  ch.  2.  In  this  second 
chapter  of  his  letter  Peter  tells  the  Christians  of  his  day 
that  they  have  a  high  and  holy  task.  In  Old  Testament 
times  the  priests  stood  between  the  people  and  God, 
representing  all  the  people  in  acts  of  worship  and  praise 
and  leading  the  people  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Almighty. 
Just  so,  Christians,  having  come  to  a  larger  and  truer 
knowledge  of  God  than  other  peoples  of  the  earth,  stand 
between  these  peoples  and  the  Almighty  as  their  repre¬ 
sentatives,  charged  with  the  responsibility  of  making 
God  known. 

It  was  felt  in  Old  Testament  times  that  the  priests 
should  be  godly  men.  So  must  Christians,  as  the  new 
priests,  put  away  “all  wickedness,  and  all  guile,  and 
hypocrisies,  and  envies,  and  all  evil  speakings.”  Chris¬ 
tians  should  be  hungry  for  spiritual  growth.  Christians 
should  live  faultless  lives  so  that  those  who  are  not 
followers  of  Christ  may  be  won  through  the  godly  living 
of  his  disciples.  Christians  should  be  good  citizens. 
Peter  admonishes  the  Christians  of  his  day  to  “honor 
all  men;  love  the  brotherhood;  fear  God;  honor  the 
king.” 

Christianity  in  the  Home.  I  Peter  3:1-7.  In  the  early 
days  of  Christianity,  difficult  situations  often  arose  when 
one  member  of  a  household  became  a  Christian  and  all 
the  other  inmates  of  the  home  remained  pagans.  Con¬ 
ditions  were  especially  trying  when  the  wife  became  a 
Christian  and  the  husband  remained  an  idolater.  Peter 
gives  some  kindly  advice  to  Christian  women  whose  hus¬ 
bands  had  not  accepted  Christianity.  He  urges  such 
women  to  remain  subject  to  their  husbands  and  to  live 
so  unselfishly  that  their  husbands  may,  through  their 
manner  of  life,  be  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion.  Christian  husbands  are  to  manifest  the  same 
unselfish  spirit  toward  their  wives. 

And  this  spirit  of  the  Christian  home  is  to  spread 
abroad  throughout  all  the  Christian  community.  Chris¬ 
tians  are  to  be  “all  likeminded,  compassionate,  loving 
as  brethren,  tenderhearted,  humbleminded :  not  rendering 
evil  for  evil,  or  reviling  for  reviling;  but  contrariwise 
blessing.” 


44  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


How  A  Fragment  oe  the  BibeE  Led  to  the  Founding 

oE  A  University 

A  good  many  years  ago  there  lived  in  Japan  a  boy 
named  Shimeta  Neesima.  His  parents  were  Buddhists 
and  a  long  row  of  idols  was  given  an  honored  place  in 
their  home.  Every  day  the  parents  of  Shimeta  brought 
food  and  drink  to  these  idols  and  worshiped  them. 
Shimeta  noticed  that  the  idols  never  ate  the  food  brought 
to  them,  nor  did  they  drink  the  wine  left  before  them 
every  day.  He  determined  to  see  whether  these  idols 
were  really  gods  or  were  only  ugly  wooden  images.  So 
he  took  one  of  them  and  buried  it  in  the  garden.  He 
was  sure  that  if  the  idol  were  really  a  god  it  would  never 
stay  there  in  the  earth.  When,  a  little  later,  he  found 
the  idol  still  in  the  ground,  he  determined  that  he  would 
never  worship  wooden  images  again. 

Shimeta  was  in  danger  of  growing  up  to  be  a  disbe¬ 
liever  in  all  religion  since  he  had  lost  faith  in  the  religion 
of  his  forefathers,  but  providentially,  just  at  this  time, 
some  one  gave  him  a  fragment  of  the  Bible.  It  was  only 
a  small  part  of  the  book  of  Genesis  and,  moreover,  it  was 
in  the  Chinese  language.  Shimeta  began  to  read  it  as 
best  he  could.  The  very  first  sentence  arrested  his  atten¬ 
tion :  '‘In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and 
the  earth.”  Here  was  a  new  view  of  the  universe  for 
the  Japanese  boy.  He  could  believe  in  a  God  like  that. 
He  heard  that  there  were  a  few  copies  of  the  Bible  in 
English  somewhere  in  Japan,  but  he  did  not  know  where 
to  find  them,  neither  could  he  read  the  language  in 
which  they  were  printed.  Moreover,  the  laws  of  Japan 
in  that  day  made  the  reading  of  the  Bible  an  offense 
punishable  by  death. 

But  Young  Neesima  determined  to  know  what  was  in 
this  wonderful  Book.  He  ran  away  and  found  refuge 
on  board  an  American  vessel  in  one  of  the  harbors  of 
Japan.  From  the  sailors  on  the  ship  he  learned  to  speak 
English  fairly  well.  After  a  time  the  ship  sailed  into 
Boston  harbor.  A  godly  merchant  named  Alpheus  Hardy 
heard  of  the  Japanese  boy  and  his  eagerness  to  learn  Amer¬ 
ican  ways.  He  took  an  interest  in  the  lad,  sending  him 
to  school  and  finally  to  Andover  Theological  Seminary. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  45 


When  he  had  completed  his  studies,  Neesima  returned 
to  Japan.  He  had  long  dreamed  of  founding  a  great 
Christian  university  in  his  native  land,  but  he  expected 
many  obstacles  to  such  an  undertaking.  He  persevered 
in  his  efforts,  however,  until  the  foundations  of  Doshisha 
University  were  laid  at  Kyoto. 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

RECOLLECTIONS  OF  JESUS  IN  THE  LETTERS 

OF  PETER 

I  Peter  2:21-25;  H  Peter  1  :13-18 

Peter  had  lived  on  very  intimate  terms  with  Jesus  for 
more  than  three  years.  He  had  heard  his  great  discourses 
to  the  people.  He  had  seen  his  miracles  of  healing.  He 
had  seen  Jesus  on  trial  for  his  life  and  led  away  to  be 
crucified.  He  had  seen  the  risen  Saviour.  What  did  he 
think  of  Jesus?  What  events  in  the  life  of  Jesus  stood 
out  most  vividly  in  the  mind  of  Peter  after  all  the  years? 
What  had  the  fellowship  with  Jesus  meant  to  Peter? 

Jesus  Was  Central  in  the  Thoughts  and  in  the  Preach¬ 
ing  of  Peter.  It  is  evident  that  the  personality  and  the 
work  of  Jesus  were  the  central  theme  in  all  of  Peter’s 
preaching.  He  speaks  of  the  eternal  existence  of  Jesus, 
saying  that  he  was  “foreknown  .  .  .  before  the  founda¬ 
tion  of  the  world.”  ITe  speaks  repeatedly  of  the  glory 
of  Christ.  Fives  times  Peter  speaks  of  Jesus  as  the 
Saviour.  Twice  he  speaks  of  Jesus  as  the  Shepherd  of 
souls.  Several  times  the  exaltation  of  Jesus  is  mentioned, 
likewise  his  power  and  his  coming  again  to  earth.  It  is 
evident  that  thoughts  of  Jesus  filled  the  mind  of  Peter, 
that  he  found  in  the  personality  and  the  teachings  of 
Christ  all  the  message  he  needed  to  comfort  the  Chris¬ 
tians  to  whom  he  was  writing,  to  strengthen  their  hearts, 
and  to  make  them  glad  in  their  times  of  affliction. 

Peter  Remembered  the  Death  of  Jesus.  I  Peter  2:21- 
25.  Peter  may  have  been  present  at  the  crucifixion  of 
Jesus,  for  he  says  in  these  letters  that  he  was  “a  witness  of 
the  sufferings  of  Christ.”  He  mentions  the  death  of  Jesus 


46  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


eight  times ;  more  often,  indeed,  than  any  other  event  in 
the  Gospel  narratives.  It  is  certain  that  Peter  believed 
that  the  death  of  Jesus  was  necessary  to  the  salvation 
of  the  world.  Through  his  death,  Jesus  had  suffered,  the 
innocent  for  the  guilty,  and  had  so  brought  about  the 
salvation  of  all  who  believe  in  him  and  accept  him  as 
Saviour  and  Lord. 

A  recollection  of  Jesus  before  the  sanhedrin  is  probably 
recorded  in  Peter’s  words,  “who,  when  he  was  reviled, 
reviled  not  again;  when  he  suffered,  threatened  not; 
but  committed  him.self  to  him  that  judgeth  righteously.” 
A  memory  of  the  cruel  scourging  is  seen  in  the  words, 
“by  whose  stripes  ye  are  healed.” 

Peter  Remembered  the  Resurrection  of  Jesus.  I  Peter 
1 :3-5.  Peter  looked  upon  the  resurrection  as  a  new  birth 
for  himself  and  all  the  followers  of  Jesus,  a  birth  into  a 
joy  which  was  incorruptible  and  full  of  glory.  It  was 
the  preaching  of  a  risen  and  living  Saviour  that  stirred 
the  people  of  the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian  Church. 
It  is  well  for  us  to  keep  in  mind  this  great  fact  and  its 
significance.  We  must  not  omit  from  our  creed  those 
sublime  words :  “The  third  day  he  rose  again  from  the 
dead.” 

Peter  Remembered  the  Transfiguration  of  Jesus.  II 

Peter  1 :16-18.  In  his  second  letter  Peter  was  writing  to 
people  who  had  begun  to  waver  in  their  faith.  False 
teachers  had  been  among  them  claiming  that  they  pos¬ 
sessed  new  truths  about  which  the  disciples  of  Jesus  had 
not  known.  As  Peter  seeks  to  assure  these  wavering 
ones,  so  that  their  faith  in  Jesus  will  remain  steadfast, 
he  thinks  of  an  experience  of  his  own  which  helped  him 
to  settle  in  his  mind  once  for  all  the  fact  that  Jesus  is 
the  Messiah  and  the  Revealer  of  the  truth  of  God.  He 
remembers  that  night  on  great  Mount  Hermon  when  he 
and  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee  saw  Jesus  glorified  and  when 
they  heard  the  voice  of  God  out  of  the  cloud  saying, 
“This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased; 
hear  ye  him.”  So  Peter  writes  to  these  wavering  Chris¬ 
tians,  saying,  “For  we  did  not  follow  cunningly  devised 
fables,  when  we  made  known  unto  you  the  power  and 
coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  we  were  eyewit¬ 
nesses  of  his  majesty.  For  he  received  from  God  the 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  47 


Father  honor  and  glory,  when  there  was  borne  such  a 
voice  to  him  by  the  Majestic  Glory,  ‘This  is  my  beloved 
Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased’ :  and  this  voice  we  our¬ 
selves  heard  borne  out  of  heaven,  when  we  were  with 
him  in  the  holy  mount.” 

Peter  Remembered  Certain  Predictions  of  Jesus.  II 
Peter  1 :13-15.  It  is  thought  that  Peter  wrote  his  Second 
Epistle  shortly  before  he  was  put  to  death.  He  seems 
to  have  felt  that  his  earthly  life  was  soon  to  end.  He 
has  remembered  through  all  the  years  those  solemn 
words  of  Jesus  spoken  by  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  “When 
thou  wast  young,  thou  girdedst  thyself,  and  walkedst 
whither  thou  wouldest:  but  when  thou  shalt  be  old, 
thou  shalt  stretch  forth  thy  hands,  and  another  shall 
gird  thee,  and  carry  thee  whither  thou  wouldest  not.” 
Perhaps  it  was  a  good  thing  for  Peter  to  know  all 
through  the  years  the  end  which  awaited  him.  It  seems 
to  have  made  him  diligent  and  thoughtful  for  the  good 
of  others.  There  is  a  spirit  of  noble  heroism  in  these 
words  of  Peter  as  he  calmly  faces  the  end  of  life  and 
realizes  that  he  must  work  while  it  is  day :  “And  I 
think  it  right,  as  long  as  I  am  in  this  tabernacle,  to  stir 
you  up  by  putting  you  in  remembrance;  knowing  that 
the  putting  off  of  my  tabernacle  cometh  swiftly,  even  as 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  signified  unto  me.” 

John  Wycuf  Who  First  Transi^at^d  th^  BibIvE:  Into 

English 

To  John  Wyclif  belongs  the  honor  of  having  first 
published  the  entire  Bible  in  English.  Most  of  the  work 
of  translation  was  done  by  Wyclif  himself,  but  a  friend 
of  Wyclifs,  named  Nicholas  of  Hereford  translated  por¬ 
tions  of  the  Old  Testament.  Wyclif  was  the  pastor  of 
a  church  in  a  little  town  called  Lutterworth.  He  be¬ 
lieved  in  giving  the  people  all  the  truths  which  the  Bible 
contains  and  his  sermons  were  such  powerful  gospel  ap¬ 
peals  that  he  soon  attracted  attention  all  over  England. 

It  was  not  long  before  there  was  serious  opposition 
to  Wyclif,  but  he  was  a  born  fighter  and  he  did  some¬ 
thing  more  than  defend  himself.  He  assailed  boldly 
the  errors  of  the  Roman  Church.  He  took  part  in  a 


48  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


bitter  controversy  which  had  been  waged  for  many  years 
between  the  kings  of  England  and  the  pope.  The  Roman 
Church  claimed  the  right  to  exact  certain  revenues  from 
the  English  people.  This  claim  was  denied  by  most  of 
the  English  kings.  Wyclif  declared  that  the  English 
Church  was  in  no  such  state  of  dependence  upon  Rome 
as  the  popes  claimed.  This  courageous  stand  of  Wyclif 
won  him  the  support  of  some  of  the  leading  people  of 
England. 

It  became  the  great  ambition  of  Wyclif’s  life  to  give 
the  English  people  the  Bible  in  their  own  language. 
Such  an  undertaking  was  branded  as  an  outrage  by  the 
Church  leaders  of  that  day.  They  said  that  Wyclif  was 
a  traitor  to  the  Church  because  he  was  trying  to  give 
the  Bible  into  the  hands  of  the  “ignorant  laity.”  They 
said  that  if  this  undertaking  succeeded  the  Bible  “would 
be  made  common  and  more  open  to  laymen  and  even 
to  women  than  it  was  wont  to  be  to  clergy  well  learned 
and  of  gQod  understanding,  so  that  the  pearl  of  the 
gospel  would  be  trodden  under  foot  of  swine.”  Wyclif 
faced  his  enemies  fearlessly  and  told  them  that  he  did, 
indeed,  intend  to  bring  it  about  that  the  plowboys  of 
England  should  know  more  of  the  Scriptures  than  they 
knew. 

The  enemies  of  Wyclif  were  powerful.  They  finally 
won  over  the  king  and  most  of  the  nobility  to  their  side. 
They  brought  Wyclif  to  trial.  As  Wyclif  arose  to  face 
the  tribunal,  a  strange  thing  happened.  The  hall  began 
to  tremble  and  the  walls  were  shaken  and  cracked.  A 
wild  outcry  of  fear  went  up  from  all  London  for  it  was 
being  shaken  by  a  great  earthquake.  Many  of  the  people 
cried  out  that  this  was  a  sign  that  Wyclif  was  a  righteous 
man  and  that  the  trial  should  cease,  but  Archbishop 
Courtenay  cried  out:  “No!  We  will  not  give  up  the 
trial.”  He  declared  that  the  earthquake  meant  that 
Wyclif  was  a  wicked  heretic  and  that  the  Church  was 
about  to  be  purged  of  his  presence  and  his  teachings. 

Wyclif  was  condemned  and  excommunicated,  but  his 
life  was  spared.  He  was  allowed  to  return  to  his  quiet 
retreat  at  Lutterworth.  There  he  went  back  to  his 
manuscripts  and  his  work  of  translating  the  Scriptures 
into  English.  Wyclif  expected  that  he  would  sooner  or 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  49 


later  be  executed,  but  he  labored  on  to  complete  his 
great  work.  Soon  after  it  was  completed,  he  was  stricken 
with  palsy  and  died.  Forty-four  years  after  the  death 
of  Wyclif  there  was  a  great  council  of  the  Church  held 
at  Constance.  This  synod  ordered  the  bones  of  Wyclif 
to  be  dug  up  and  burned  and  the  ashes  to  be  thrown 
into  the  river  Swift  which,  “runneth  hard  by  the  church 
at  Lutterworth.”  In  the  words  of  Fuller:  “This  brook 
did  convey  his  ashes  into  the  Avon,  Avon  into  the  Severn, 
Severn  into  the  narrow  sea,  and  this  into  the  wide  ocean. 
And  so  the  ashes  of  Wyclif  are  the  emblem  of  his 
doctrine,  which  is  now  dispersed  all  the  world  over.” 

The  Lesson  Prayer 

We  thank  thee,  our  heavenly  Father,  that  we  can  read 
the  Bible  in  our  own  language.  We  thank  thee  for  the 
heroic  men  who  wrote  the  Scriptures  and  the  heroic 
men  who  gave  them  to  us  in  our  own  tongue.  We  ask 
thee  to  bless  the  agencies  which  are  printing  the  Bible 
and  sending  it  abroad  throughout  all  the  world.  We 
ask  thee  to  bless  those  who  teach  the  Scriptures  in  col¬ 
leges  and  universities.  Help  our  Sunday  schools  to  be 
efficient  in  the  teaching  of  the  Scriptures.  Teach  us 
how  to  study  the  Bible  in  the  right  way  and  give  us 
strength  and  courage  to  live  up  to  the  high  ideals  which 
it  teaches  us.  We  ask  in  Jesus’  name.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“How  Firm  a  Foundation,  Ye  Saints  of  the  Lord.” 
“Studies  of  Familiar  Hymns,”  page  37. 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

A  CHRISTIAN’S  USE  OF  THE  BIBLE 

Psalm  119 

We  have  as  our  Scripture  lesson  the  longest  chapter 
in  the  Bible.  There  are  twenty-two  divisions  in  this 
chapter  and  each  is  named  after  a  letter  of  the  Hel:>rew 


50  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


alphabet.  Each  section  contains  eight  verses  which 
makes  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  verses  in  all.  Note 
that  each  verse  is  a  statement  about  the  Bible,  for  the 
various  terms,  such  as  “law,”  “testimonies,”  “statutes,” 
all  refer  to  the  Bible.  Think  of  it;  one  hundred  and 
seventy-six  separate  statements  about  the  greatness  and 
value  of  the  Bible  and  yet  no  statement  a  repetition  of 
any  other!  And  yet  the  Old  Testament  poet  who  wrote 
this  psalm  did  not  have  such  a  wonderful  Bible  as  we 
have.  He  had  less  than  half  of  the  Old  Testament — 
just  the  first  five  books,  perhaps,  and  a  few  others — with 
none  of  the  New  Testament  books.  This  poet  had  no 
account  of  the  marvelously  perfect  life  of  Jesus,  no  let¬ 
ters  of  Paul  and  the  other  apostles,  and  yet  he  sings  the 
praises  of  his  Bible  in  a  wonderful  song. 

Some  Truths  erom  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

Peter  was  familiar  with  the  Old  Testament  and  with 
such  portions  of  the  New  Testament  as  existed  in  his 
day.  This  knowledge  helped  him  to  be  a  more  efficient 
worker  for  Christ  than  he  could  have  been  without  it. 

Peter  probably  had  no  idea  that  his  letters  would 
finally  become  a  part  of  the  Bible,  but,  with  a  sincere 
desire  to  help  his  fellow  Christians  in  their  times  of 
trial  and  danger,  he  did  the  best  he  could.  Thus  does 
God  often  take  the  results  of  men’s  labors  and  give  them 
a  place  and  a  purpose  far  beyond  the  ends  which  his 
servants  have  in  view. 

The  reading  of  the  Bible  made  a  profound  change  in 
the  life  of  the  Japanese  lad,  Neesima.  The  Bible  is 
capable  of  making  just  as  great  changes  in  the  life  of 
every  citizen  of  Japan,  or  of  any  other  nation,  as  it  made 
in  the  life  of  Neesima.  How  important  then  to  give 
the  Bible  an  opportunity  in  the  world  1 

The  life  of  Peter  was  strong  and  helpful  because  his 
mind  was  filled  with  recollections  of  Jesus  and  his  heart 
with  love  for  Jesus. 

Wyclif  was  honoring  the  Bible  when  he  sought  to  put 
it  in  the  hands  of  all  the  people.  His  adversaries  claimed 
to  have  so  great  a  respect  for  the  Bible  that  they  could 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  51 


not  bear  to  have  common  people  read  it.  In  reality  they 
dishonored  the  Bible  by  their  narrow  views  and  their 
unbrotherly  conduct. 

Revie:w  Questions 

1.  How  do  we  know  that  Peter  really  wrote  the  two 
epistles  ascribed  to  him  in  the  New  Testament? 

2.  Find  some  verses  in  Peter’s  letters  which  are  quo¬ 
tations  from  the  Old  Testament. 

3.  What,  according  to  Peter,  is  the  great  source  of 
Christian  happiness  and  hope? 

4.  What  did  Peter  mean  when  he  called  Christians 
“a  holy  priesthood”? 

5.  Name  some  ways  in  which  the  Christian  home 
differs  from  homes  which  are  not  Christian. 

6.  Name  some  of  the  events  in  the  life  of  Jesus  which 
are  mentioned  by  Peter  in  his  letters. 

7.  What  does  Peter  believe  about  the  death  of  Jesus? 
(Its  effect,  necessity,  importance.) 

8.  What  place  did  Peter  give  to  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  in  his  preaching? 

9.  Why  does  Peter  mention  the  transfiguration  of 
Jesus  in  his  letter  to  people  who  were  wavering  in  their 
faith  ? 

10.  In  what  ways  are  Peter  and  Paul  alike?  In  what 
ways  unlike? 

Bibee  Verses 

All  the  Bible  verses  for  this  session  are  taken  from  the 
One  Hundred  and  Nineteenth  Psalm. 

1.  Youth’s  Best  Guide.  V.  9. 

2.  A  Safeguard  Against  Sin.  V.  11. 

3.  Wondrous  Things  for  Those  of  Spiritual  Vision. 
V.  18. 

4.  Source  of  Wisdom  and  Delight.  V.  24. 

5.  Driven  to  the  Bible  by  Affliction.  Vs.  67,  71. 

6.  Source  of  Knowledge.  Vs.  98-100. 

7.  Bible  Light.  Vs.  105,  130. 

8.  Bible  Comfort.  V.  143. 

9.  Bible  Peace.  V.  165. 

10.  The  Way  Back  to  God.  V.  176. 


52  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Study  Topics 

1.  How  Jesus  Used  the  Bible  to  Overcome  Tempta¬ 
tion.  Matt.  4:1-11. 

2.  How  Jesus  Used  the  Bible  to  Answer  Doubting 
Critics.  Matt.  22 :23-33. 

3.  How  Jesus  Used  the  Bible  to  Teach  His  Disciples 
Religious  Truths.  Luke  24:25-28. 

4.  What  Peter  Believed  About  the  Inspiration  of  the 
Bible.  II  Peter  1 :21. 

5.  Paul’s  Ideas  Concerning  the  Value  of  Bible  Study. 
H  Tim.  3:14-17. 

6.  Ancient  Bible  Manuscripts.  (See  “How  We  Got 
Our  Bible,”  Smyth,  page  11.) 

7.  My  Favorite  Bible  Verses  and  Why  I  Like  Them. 

8.  “How  the  Bible  Was  Written  and  Preserved.” 
(See  “Our  Reasonable  Faith,”  Miller,  page  35.) 

9.  Best  Methods  of  Private  Bible  Study.  (This  topic 
may  be  taken  by  the  pastor  of  the  church  or  some  other 
person  of  experience  in  Bible  study.) 

10.  The  Story  of  the  King  James  Version  of  the 
Bible.  (See  any  good  Church  History.) 

Putting  the  Truths  of  the  Lesson  Into  Practice 

Have  pupils  sign  pledges  to  read  the  Bible  daily.  Let 
the  class  take  part  in  some  such  work  as  that  of  the 
American  Bible  Society. 


t 


PETER  AND  JOHN  RUNNING  TO  THE  TOMB 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  DISCIPLE  WHOM  JESUS  LOVED 
WEEK  DAY  SESSION 
A  YOUNG  AND  TEACHABLE  DISCIPLE 

John  1:35-40;  Luke  9:49-56;  Mark  10:35-45; 

Matt.  18:1-4 

John  had  a  great  advantage  over  Peter  and  most  of 
the  other  disciples  in  that  he  was  young  and  capable  of 
learning  new  ways  of  life  readily.  We  must  remember, 
however,  that  if  John  had  not  had  a  willing  mind,  he 
would  not  have  learned  much  even  under  the  Great 
Teacher.  John  was  willing  to  learn  and  being  young  he 
made  rapid  progress  and  ultimately  grasped  more  fully 
than  any  other  disciple  the  significance  of  the  personality 
and  teachings  of  Jesus.  John  is  the  best  interpreter  of 
Jesus,  because  he  came  to  know  his  great  Friend  early 
in  life,  was  deeply  devoted  to  him,  and  lived  in  obedience 
to  him  throughout  a  long  and  useful  life.  In  John’s  life 
the  precious  morning  hours  had  not  been  wasted. 

John’s  First  Meeting  with  Jesus.  John  1 :35-40.  Like 
Peter,  John  had  been  a  disciple  of  John  the  Baptist.  He 
had  thus  been  under  training  for  service  in  the  Kingdom 
even  before  he  met  Jesus.  John  was  one  of  the  two 
disciples  to  whom  the  Baptist  pointed  Jesus  out  calling 
him  the  ‘‘Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world.”  He  and  Andrew  then  followed  Jesus  and  on 
his  invitation  went  home  with  him.  That  is,  they  went 
to  the  place  where  Jesus  was  staying  while  he  was  at¬ 
tending  the  preaching  servicjes  which  John  was  carry¬ 
ing  on.  It  may  have  been  only  a  temporary  booth  made 
of  the  branches  of  trees.  John  never  forgot  that  first 
day  he  spent  with  Jesus.  When  he  was  an  old  man 
he  wrote  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  he  still  remembered  the 
exact  time  of  day  when  he  first  met  Jesus;  he  tells  us 
“it  was  about  the  tenth  hour.” 

A  Young  Man  Rather  Narrow  and  Intolerant.  Luke 

53 


54  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


9:49-56.  It  was  not  an  unmixed  advantage  to  John  that 
he  was  young.  He  had  many  things  to  learn.  His 
experience  had  not  been  wide.  He  had  youthful  enthu¬ 
siasm,  but  he  sometimes  used  it  unwisely.  One  day  he 
saw  a  certain  man  curing  demoniacs  by  speaking  over 
them  the  name  of  Jesus.  Now  John  imagined  that  this 
man  had  no  right  to  do  such  a  thing,  because  he  was 
not  a  disciple  of  Jesus.  So  he  told  the  man  that  he  must 
not  use  the  name  of  Jesus  to  effect  cures  any  more. 
Afterward  he  told  Jesus  about  what  he  had  seen  and 
what  he  had  said  to  the  man  who  was  healing  demon- 
possessed  people.  It  w'ould  have  been  much  better  for 
John  to  have  consulted  Jesus  before  commanding  the 
man  to  stop  healing,  but  he  was  young  and  acted  hastily. 
His  loyalty  to  Jesus  was  fine,  but  he  used  it  in  a  wrong 
way.  Jesus  said  to  John,  ‘‘Forbid  him  not:  for  he  that 
is  not  against  you  is  for  you.” 

On  another  occasion  Jesus  and  his  disciples  were  pass¬ 
ing  through  Samaria  on  their  way  to  Jerusalem.  They 
came  to  a  Samaritan  village.  Jesus  had  sent  some  of 
his  disciples  on  ahead  of  the  main  party  that  they  might 
find  lodgings  there  for  the  night,  but  when  Jesus  arrived 
those  who  had  gone  ahead  into  the  village  reported  that 
the  Samaritan  people  would  not  allow  them  to  lodge  in 
their  village.  The  fact  that  Jesus  and  his  disciples  were 
going  toward  Jerusalem  awoke  the  ancient  hatred  which 
had  been  growing  between  Jews  and  Samaritans  for  some 
centuries.  The  Samaritans  maintained  that  Mount  Geri- 
zim  and  not  Mount  Zion  was  the  place  where  the  center 
of  the  worship  of  Jehovah  ought  to  be.  Because  of  this 
narrow  prejudice  and  because  they  saw  that  Jesus  and 
his  disciples  were  going  to  Jerusalem,  the  villagers  re¬ 
fused  Jesus  and  his  disciples  food  and  shelter.  This  was 
really  a  very  serious  breach  of  etiquette  for  in  Oriental 
countries  there  is  a  custo;nary  hospitality  far  beyond 
anything  with  which  we  are  familiar  in  our  land. 

James  and  John  were  very  angry  at  this  insult  to  them 
and  their  Teacher.  They  wished  to  call  down  fire  from 
heaven  that  the  Samaritans  might  all  be  consumed. 
They  had  read  about  Elijah  calling  down  fire  to  consume 
his  enemies  and  they  had  seen  enough  of  the  power  of 
Jesus  to  believe  that  he  could  destroy  the  whole  village 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  55 


if  he  chose  to  do  so.  Jesus  rebuked  his  two  disciples 
for  suggesting  such  a  thing  and  then  they  went  on  to 
the  next  village. 

A  Young  Man  of  Selfish  Ambitions.  Mark  10:35-45. 
It  is  a  good  thing  to  be  ambitious  if  one’s  ambition  is  of 
the  right  kind,  but  if  one’s  ambition  is  narrow  and  selfish, 
it  may  be  a  curse  to  the  one  who  possesses  it  and  also  to 
the  world.  James  and  John  had  become  disciples  of 
Jesus  expecting  him  to  set  up  a  temporal  Kingdom. 
They  had  dreams  of  the  places  of  honor  and  power  which 
they  would  occupy  in  that  Kingdom.  They  were  so 
anxious  about  it  that  they  finally  decided  to  approach 
Jesus  with  a  request  that  they  be  given  the  highest  places 
in  the  Kingdom  when  it  was  set  up. 

They  knew  that  Jesus  loved  them  and  that  they  stood 
high  in  his  estimation.  They  would  take  advantage  of 
this  friendship  of  their  Teacher  to  advance  their  own 
interests.  Moreover,  they  tried  to  trap  their  Master 
into  promising  them  that  which  they  desired  before  he 
knew  the  nature  of  the  request.  They  decided  to  say  to 
him,  “Teacher,  we  would  that  thou  shouldest  do  for  us 
whatsoever  we  shall  ask  of  thee.”  They  planned  to  have 
their  mother  accompany  them  that  she  might  use  her 
influence  in  persuading  Jesus  to  grant  the  request. 

Their  plan  failed  because  Jesus  met  their  request  with 
a  straightforward  inquiry  as  to  what  they  wished  him 
to  do  for  them.  So  they  told  him  about  their  desire  to 
sit  next  to  him  in  his  Kingdom.  We  can  read  compas¬ 
sion  and  love  in  the  answer  of  Jesus.  He  said  to  them : 
“Ye  know  not  what  ye  ask.  Are  ye  able  to  drink  the 
cup  that  I  drink?  or  to  be  baptized  with  the  baptism 
that  I  am  baptized  with?”  They  said  that  they  were 
able,  but  Jesus  told  them  that  while  it  would  come  to 
pass  that  they  should  drink  of  his  cup  and  be  baptized 
with  his  baptism,  yet  he  could  not  promise  them  that 
they  should  sit  next  to  him  in  the  Kingdom.  Jesus  was 
talking  of  things  which  his  disciples  could  not  fully 
understand  as  yet.  To  them,  to  sit  next  to  Jesus,  meant 
honor  and  power  and  authority  over  their  fellows.  Jesus 
knew  that  to  sit  next  to  him  meant  to  be  like  him  in 
character. 


56  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


When  the  other  disciples  heard  about  this  request  of 
the  two  sons  of  Zebedee,  they  were  angry.  Serious  mis¬ 
understandings  and  divisions  might  have  resulted  had 
not  Jesus  called  the  company  of  the  disciples  together 
and  talked  with  them  earnestly  and  kindly  concerning 
what  it  meant  to  be  great  in  the  Kingdom  which  he  was 
seeking  to  set  up.  His  Kingdom  was  not  to  be  like  the 
kingdoms  of  the  Gentiles  where  rulers  lorded  it  over 
their  subjects.  Whosoever  would  be  great  in  the  King¬ 
dom  of  God  must  become  the  servant  and  minister  of  his 
fellow  men,  not  their  ruler  and  official  superior. 

A  Lesson  John  Had  to  Learn.  Matt.  18:1-4.  There 
were  other  occasions  when  this  matter  of  who  was  to  be 
the  greatest  in  the  expected  Kingdom  occupied  the  minds 
of  the  disciples.  Once  when  they  asked  Jesus  about  it, 
he  answered  their  question  by  calling  a  little  child  to 
him  and  placing  him  in  their  midst.  Then  he  said  to 
them,  “Verily  I  say  unto  you.  Except  ye  turn,  and  become 
as  little  children,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  the  king¬ 
dom  of  heaven.”  It  took  the  disciples  a  long  time  to 
learn  that  lesson.  They  had  to  get  rid  of  their  narrow 
and  selfish  ambitions.  They  had  to  become  humble  and 
teachable.  They  had  to  learn  that  to  be  in  the  Kingdom 
meant  to  be  something  rather  than  to  have  something. 

“The  Disciple  Whom  Jesus  Loved.”  John  21 :20. 
John  does  not  mention  his  own  name  anywhere  in  his 
Gospel.  He  speaks  of  himself  as  “the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved.”  It  was  not  egotism  that  caused  John  to 
choose  this  title  for  himself.  He  did  not  mean,  we  may 
be  sure,  that  Jesus  loved  him  more  than  the  other  dis¬ 
ciples.  It  was  a  humble  and  modest  way  of  speaking  of 
himself,  as  though  the  only  thing  which  gave  him  any 
right  to  appear  in  the  account  of  the  life  of  Jesus  was 
the  fact  that  Jesus  loved  him. 

A  Haystack  Prayer  Meeting 

Near  the  campus  of  Williams  College,  Williamstown, 
Massachusetts,  there  stands  a  modest  monument  which 
consists  of  a  globe  mounted  on  a  pedestal.  On  one  side 
of  the  monument  there  is  engraved  the  figure  of  a  hay¬ 
stack  and  the  following  words : 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  57 


THE  FIELD  IS  THE  WORLD 
The  Birthplace  of 
American  Foreign  Missions 
1806 

Samuel  J.  Mills 
James  Richards 
Francis  L.  Robbins 
Harvey  Loomis 
Byram  Green 

The  monument  marks  the  spot  where,  in  August,  1806, 
five  students  of  Williams  College  took  refuge  under  a 
haystack  from  an  approaching  thunderstorm.  These 
young  men  had  gone  out  that  afternoon  to  talk  and 
pray  together.  They  had  felt  the  call  to  carry  the  gospel 
into  lands  where  it  had  never  been  preached  before. 
At  that  time  there  was  not  even  one  American  foreign 
missionary  in  any  country.  They  prayed  together,  these 
five  boys,  asking  God  to  create  in  our  country  an  interest 
in  the  great  enterprise  upon  which  Jesus  had  started  his 
disciples  so  many  centuries  ago.  They  asked  God  to 
use  them  in  his  own  way  to  further  the  cause  which  lay 
upon  their  hearts. 

That  little  prayer  meeting  under  the  haystack  marked 
the  beginning  of  American  foreign  missions.  To  it  can 
l^e  traced  directly  the  establishment  of  the  missionary 
enterprise  in  Asia,  Africa,  and  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 
Three  foreign  missionary  societies  resulted  directly  from 
it.  Even  a  nation  had  its  beginning  as  a  result  of  the 
haystack  prayer  meeting,  for  a  number  of  years  later 
Samuel  Mills  went  as  a  missionary  to  the  west  coast  of 
Africa  and  there  organized  a  colony  for  Christian 
Negroes.  This  colony  later  became  an  independent 
nation,  and  is  now  called  Liberia. 

One  hundred  years  after  the  haystack  prayer  meeting 
the  Laymen’s  Missionary  Movement  was  organized  as  a 
memorial  of  that  little  gathering  which  had  proved  to  be 
the  beginning  of  such  great  things  for  the  advancement 
of  God’s  Kingdom  throughout  the  world.  “The  power 
of  the  sun,’’  said  Samuel  B.  Capen,  “will  be  measured 
with  a  yardstick  sooner  than  the  results  of  the  haystack 
meeting  by  statistics.” 


58  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

GROWING  MORE  LIKE  JESUS  WITH  THE  PASSING 

OF  THE  YEARS 

John  19:25-27;  Acts  5:25-42;  8:14-25;  Rev.  1:9-11 

We  have  seen  in  the  previous  lesson  that  John  had 
some  serious  faults.  He  was  narrow  in  his  sympathies. 
He  was  unworthily  ambitious.  He  was  selfish  enough 
to  wish  the  place  of  greatest  honor  in  the  Kingdom  for 
him  and  his  brother.  He  was  not  quite  honest,  or  he 
would  not  have  tried  to  entrap  his  Master  into  promis¬ 
ing  him  first  place  in  the  Kingdom.  His  thoughts  were 
of  place  and  honor  and  prominence  for  himself  rather 
than  of  service  for  his  fellow  men.  In  this  lesson  we  are 
to  learn  how  all  these  faults  were  gradually  overcome 
throug'h  his  fellowship  with  Jesus.  The  longer  he  lived 
the  more  John  became  like  his  great  Teacher. 

By  the  Cross  of  Calvary.  John  19:25-27.  If  John  ran 
away  with  the  other  disciples  when  Jesus  was  arrested 
in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  he  must  have  soon  after 
turned  and  followed  the  crowd  which  had  seized  Jesus, 
for  we  are  told  that  he  was  present  at  the  trial  of  Jesus 
in  the  palace  of  the  high  priest.  He  was  known  to  the 
high  priest  and  must  have  been  known  therefore  as  a 
disciple  of  Jesus.  It  took  no  small  amount  of  courage 
for  John  to  come  into  the  place  where  Jesus  was  on  trial 
for  the  danger  to  his  life  was  very  real. 

We  hear  of  John  again  on  Calvary  when  Jesus  was 
crucified.  He  was  there  with  the  company  of  faithful 
women  who  had  followed  Jesus  from  Galilee.  Jesus, 
seeing  the  disciple  whom  he  loved  standing  by  the  cross, 
said  to  his  mother,  who  was  also  near,  “Woman,  behold, 
thy  son!”  Then  he  said  to  John,  “Behold,  thy  mother!” 
From  that  hour  John  looked  upon  Mary  as  his  adopted 
mother  and  he  took  her  to  his  own  home.  Thus  one  of 
the  last  acts  of  Jesus  was  securing  a  home  for  his  mother 
and  giving  her  into  the  care  of  his  beloved  disciple  and 
friend. 

A  Fearless  Preacher  of  the  Gospel.  Acts  5 :25-42. 
John  was  associated  with  Peter  in  the  early  days  of  the 
Christian  Church.  They  went  together  to  preach  to  the 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  59 


people.  They  were  arrested  and  tried  before  the  sanhe¬ 
drin.  Both  John  and  Peter  were  in  grave  danger  of 
their  lives  when  they  were  seized  the  second  time  by 
the  Jewish  leaders,  but  they  were  saved  by  the  inter¬ 
vention  of  Gamaliel,  who  advised  a  more  moderate  policy 
than  the  other  leaders  seemed  inclined  at  first  to  pursue. 
Both  were  cruelly  beaten,  however.  As  they  were  set 
at  liberty  they  were  warned  not  to  speak  any  more  in 
the  name  of  Jesus,  but  “every  day,  in  the  temple  and  at 
home,  they  ceased  not  to  teach  and  to  preach  Jesus  as 
the  Christ.” 

Ministering  to  Samaritans.  Acts  8:14-25.  The  perse¬ 
cution  of  the  Christians  scattered  them  abroad  over  all 
the  land  bordering  upon  Judea.  In  this  way  Philip  came 
to  be  in  Samaria  and  to  preach  the  gospel  there. 

When  the  apostles  who  were  in  Jerusalem  heard  that 
the  Samaritan  people  were  responding  to  the  gospel  as 
it  was  being  preached  to  them  by  Philip,  they  determined 
to  send  Peter  and  John  into  Samaria.  So  these  two 
disciples  went  through  many  of  the  villages  of  Samaria 
preaching  the  gospel,  and  many  of  the  Samaritans  be¬ 
came  followers  of  Jesus.  Thus  John  became  one  of  the 
first  foreign  missionaries  of  the  Church  for  he  was  sent 
among  a  people  who  were  looked  upon  by  the  Jews  as 
foreigners.  The  power  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  to  oblit¬ 
erate  race  prejudices  and  international  ill  will  is  clearly 
seen  in  the  willingness  of  Peter  and  John  to  become 
missionaries  to  the  Samaritans.  It  was  not  very  long 
before  this  that  neither  of  these  disciples  would  have 
cared  to  have  any  dealings  with  Samaritans ;  not  very 
long  before  this  John  had  wished  to  burn  up  the  people 
of  a  Samaritan  village,  with  fire  brought  down  from 
heaven. 

Alone  on  the  Isle  of  Patmos.  Rev.  1:9-11.  After  his 
mission  to  Samaria,  John  returned  to  Jerusalem,  where 
he  remained  for  many  years.  These  were  times  of  bitter 
persecution  of  the  Church  in  Judea,  and  especially  at 
Jerusalem,  and  John  seems  to  have  held  steadfastly  to 
his  post  in  spite  of  perils  on  every  hand.  When  Paul 
had  completed  his  second  missionary  journey  he  visited 
Jerusalem  and  there  met  Peter,  James,  the  Lord’s 
brother,  and  John.  Paul  says  that  the  three  persons  we 


60  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


have  named  were  “reputed  to  be  pillars”  in  the  church 
at  Jerusalem. 

John  later  moved  to  Ephesus  where  he  had  the  over¬ 
sight  of  a  large  district  in  western  Asia  Minor.  Perhaps 
the  seven  churches  to  which  he  addressed  the  book  of 
Revelation  were  under  his  supervision.  During  one  of 
the  bitter  persecutions  which  broke  out  against  the 
Christians,  John  was  banished  to  a  lonely  island  called 
Patmos.  While  there  he  had  certain  spiritual  experi¬ 
ences  which  enabled  him  to  write  the  last  book  of  the 
New  Testament. 

The  election  of  Nerva  to  be  emperor  of  Rome  brought 
the  persecution  of  the  Christians  to  an  end,  for  the  time 
being,  and  John  was  allowed  to  return  to  Ephesus. 
There  he  lived  to  extreme  old  age.  Some  of  the  greatest 
men  of  the  Early  Church  were  pupils  of  John  while  he 
lived  at  Ephesus.  Among  these  were  Polycarp,  Papias, 
and  Ignatius. 

A  Lover  of  Children.  I  John  2:1-6,  12-14.  You  will 
remember  that  once  when  John  and  some  of  the  other 
disciples  were  disputing  about  who  should  be  counted 
greatest  in  the  Kingdom  of  heaven,  Jesus  took  a  little 
child  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them  and  said:  “Except 
ye  turn,  and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  in  no 
wise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Whosoever 
therefore  shall  humble  himself  as  this  little  child,  the 
same  is  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.”  Matt. 
18:3,  4.  As  we  read  John’s  tender  message  to  little  chil¬ 
dren,  we  are  convinced  that  he  had  met  the  conditions 
laid  down  by  his  great  Teacher.  He  had  childlike  hu¬ 
mility;  he  had  entered  into  the  true  Kingdom  of  heaven. 

Noble  Ambition.  I  John  2:15-17.  All  the  selfish  and 
unworthy  ambition  had  been  eliminated  from  John’s 
character.  He  was  no  longer  dreaming  of  a  temporal 
kingdom  as  he  penned  the  following  lines :  “Love  not 
the  world,  neither  the  things  that  are  in  the  world.  If 
any  man  love  the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not 
in  him.  For  all  that  is  in  the  world,  the  lust  of  the  flesh 
and  the  lust  of  the  eyes  and  the  vainglory  of  life,  is  not 
of  the  Father,  but  is  of  the  world.  And  the  world  passeth 
away,  and  the  lust  thereof :  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  61 


God  abideth  forever.”  In  his  youth,  John  had  dreamed 
of  a  high  place  of  power  and  honor  for  himself  in  an 
earthly  and  temporal  kingdom.  Experiences  of  life 
and  his  fellowship  with  Jesus  had  shown  him  the  treas¬ 
ures  of  the  true  and  eternal  Kingdom. 

An  Outcaste  Boy  oe  India 

Damaru’s  ancestors  for  many  generations  had  belonged 
to  the  lowest  class  in  India.  They  were  beggars  and 
outcastes.  The  cruel  caste  system  of  India  condemned 
poor  little  Damaru  to  the  same  kind  of  life  which  his 
forefathers  had  lived.  He  was  bright  and  ambitious,  but 
there  seemed  to  be  no  possible  chance  of  his  ever  making 
anything  of  himself.  No  schools  were  open  to  him.  The 
proud  Brahman  boys  and  other  boys  of  castes  lower  than 
the  Brahmans  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  Damaru. 
They  would  not  think  of  sitting  down  to  eat  with  him. 
Indeed,  if  Damaru’s  shadow  so  much  as  fell  across  the 
table,  the  boys  would  all  rise  and  throw  the  food  away 
to  the  dogs. 

When  Damaru  was  still  just  a  young  lad,  a  great 
famine  fell  on  India.  The  customary  rains  did  not  come. 
In  a  little  while  the  food  was  all  gone,  or  had  become  so 
scarce  and  high-priced  that  poor  people  could  not  obtain 
anything  to  eat.  The  low-caste  peoples,  being  poor, 
were,  of  course,  first  to  suffer.  Damaru’s  parents  died 
of  starvation.  He  himself  was  reduced  to  little  more 
than  a  skeleton  and  he  became  so  weak  that  he  could  no 
longer  walk. 

Just  in  time  to  save  his  life  he  was  found  by  some 
famine  relief  workers  and  taken  to  a  place  where  thou¬ 
sands  of  children  were  being  cared  for.  He  was  given 
food  and  clothing,  and  in  a  little  while  was  stronger  and 
plumper  than  he  had  ever  been  before  in  all  his  life.  The 
kindness  of  the  Christian  men  and  women  of  the  relief 
station  was  a  great  riddle  to  Damaru.  Here  were  people 
who  not  only  gave  him  food  and  clothing  and  tender 
care,  but  who  did  not  refuse  to  sit  at  the  same  table  with 
him,  and  who  did  not  throw  away  every  particle  of  food 
his  hands  had  touched. 

When  Damaru  grew  well  he  was  taken  to  the  Sunday 


62  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


school  and  the  church  services  which  were  conducted 
at  the  relief  station.  As  he  learned  to  read  from  his 
New  Testament  and  heard  his  teachers  telling  about  the 
Great  Teacher  who  had  taught  and  lived  a  life  of  uni¬ 
versal  brotherhood,  things  began  to  become  plain  to 
him.  “Ah,”  said  he,  “I  see  why  it  is  that  the  Christian 
people  are  willing  to  take  in  a  poor,  outcaste  boy  like  me 
and  sit  at  the  same  table  with  him.  It  is  because  Jesus, 
their  Teacher,  showed  them  that  all  men  are  brothers.” 

And  so  Damaru  came  to  love  the  religion  which  taught 
people  to  treat  him  as  though  he  were  of  some  use  in 
the  world.  He  became  a  member  of  the  Christian  En¬ 
deavor  Society  at  the  city  of  Damoh.  Later  he  attended 
a  Bible  school  in  India  and  is  now  pastor  of  one  of  the 
native  Christian  churches.  He  has  proved  himself  to 
be  an  earnest  and  faithful  minister  of  Jesus. 

The:  Le:sson  Prayer 

Our  Father  in  heaven,  we  would  remember  thee  in 
the  days  of  our  youth.  We  would  be  grateful  to  thee, 
for  all  the  opportunities  which  thou  hast  placed  before 
us  in  the  pathway  of  life.  Guide  us  into  ways  of  service 
and  spiritual  development.  Teach  us  to  use  our  time  in 
the  right  way  so  that  we  may  accomplish  something  for 
thee.  Show  us  the  folly  of  living  selfishly  and  for  the 
pleasures  of  the  present  moment.  Give  us  worthy  am¬ 
bitions  and  may  we  pursue  them  patiently  and  earnestly 
all  our  days.  We  ask  in  Jesus’  name.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“Lord,  with  Glowing  Heart  I’d  Praise  Thee.”  “Studies 
of  Familiar  Hymns,”  page  51. 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

SEEING  JESUS  AS  HE  IS  AND  BECOMING  LIKE  HIM 

I  John  3:1-3;  II  Cor.  3:18 

The  two  passages  of  Scripture  chosen  as  the  basis  of 
this  lesson  are  much  alike.  One  was  written  by  the  dis- 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  63 


ciple  whose  life  we  have  been  studying;  the  other  was 
written  by  the  Apostle  Paul.  Both  speak  of  the  gradual 
changing  of  the  character  of  the  true  believer  into  the 
likeness  of  the  character  of  Jesus.  Both  writers  were 
speaking,  in  large  measure,  from  their  own  observations 
and  personal  experiences.  We  have  seen  how  the  char¬ 
acter  of  John  took  on  the  qualities  of  his  great  Teacher. 
When  we  study  the  life  of  Paul  we  find  that  in  his  char¬ 
acter,  too,  profound  changes  took  place  after  he  became 
a  believer  in  Jesus  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  No  one 
who  is  familiar  with  the  life  of  John  the  disciple,  and 
who  has  read  understandingly  the  wonderful  narrative 
of  the  life  of  Jesus  which  he  wrote,  and  has  caught  the 
spirit  of  his  three  simple  but  beautiful  epistles,  and  has 
been  stirred  by  the  sublimity  of  his  letter  to  the  seven 
churches,  can  fail  to  see  that  John  had  seen  Jesus  and 
had  become  like  him.  Perhaps  John  saw  Jesus,  that  is, 
understood  his  character,  more  clearly  than  any  other 
of  the  disciples.  Yet  John  realized  that  his  own  under¬ 
standing  of  the  character  of  Jesus  was  as  yet,  imperfect. 
He  looked  forward  to  a  distant  day  when  he  should  really 
see  Jesus  as  he  is  and  should  be  really  like  his  Master. 

Some  Truths  erom  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

John  became  like  Jesus  in  courageous  devotion  to 
duty.  Rather  than  abandon  the  task  which  God  had 
assigned  him,  he  suffered  banishment  to  a  lonely  island 
and  was  willing  to  suffer  death  for  the  Church  of  Christ. 

John  became  like  Jesus  in  his  unselfishness.  As  we 
read  his  letters  we  are  convinced  that  his  great  concern 
was  for  the  good  of  others.  He  had  lost  sight  of  self  in 
his  devotion  to  a  great  cause. 

John  became  like  Jesus  in  his  sympathy.  He  became, 
like  his  Master,  a  friend  of  little  children.  His  Second 
Epistle  is  written  to  a  woman  and  it  is  a  model  of  Chris¬ 
tian  courtesy.  John  does  not  forget  after  expressing 
salutation  to  “the  elect  lady”  to  add  the  words,  “and 
her  children.” 

John  became  like  Jesus  in  his  ambitions.  He  tells  us 
that  he  wrote  his  account  of  the  life  of  Christ  that  all 


64  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


who  read  it  might  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  and 
that  believing  they  might  have  life  through  his  name. 
This  statement  expresses  admirably  the  one  great  ambi¬ 
tion  which  came  to  possess  the  disciple’s  soul. 

John  became  like  Jesus  in  his  spirit  of  service.  He 
came  to  a  time  when  he  was  glad  to  go  and  preach  to 
the  Samaritans  whom  he  had  once  despised. 

John  became  like  Jesus  in  his  enjoyments.  Jesus 
greatly  rejoiced  and  gave  God  thanks  when  his  disciples 
were  successful  in  the  mission  of  preaching  and  healing 
on  which  he  had  sent  them.  John  writes  to  a  friend  of 
whom  he  has  heard  good  reports  and  says,  “Greater  joy 
have  I  none  than  this,  to  hear  of  my  children  walking 
in  the  truth,”  III  John  4. 

Review  Questions 

1.  What  advantage  was  it  to  John  that  he  was  the 
youngest  disciple  among  the  Twelve?  Was  his  youth 
any  disadvantage? 

2.  Tell  of  John’s  first  meeting  with  Jesus. 

3.  What  incidents  show  us  that  John  was  at  first 
rather  narrow  in  his  sympathies? 

4.  Tell  of  the  request  John  and  his  brother  made 
regarding  their  place  in  the  Kingdom. 

5.  Tell  the  story  of  the  haystack  prayer  meeting. 

6.  How  did  John  show  his  courage  at  the  trial  of 
Jesus? 

7.  How  did  he  show  his  courage  in  the  early  days 
of  the  Church? 

8.  What  books  of  the  New  Testament  are  thought 
to  have  been  written  by  John? 

9.  In  what  respects  did  John  become  like  Jesus  in 
character? 

10.  Tell  the  story  of  Damaru,  the  outcaste  lad  of 
India. 

Bibee  Verses 

John  15:5;  Acts  4:13;  Eph.  3:11-15;  Phil.  3:8-11,  13, 
14 ;  I  Peter  2 :21 ;  I  John  2 :29 ;  3 :24 ;  4 :10,  1 1 ;  Rev.  3:12. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  65 


Study  Topics 

1.  *Tn  His  Steps”  To-Day  (A  Review  of  Charles  M. 
Sheldon’s  Book). 

2.  If  Jesus  Were  a  High-School  Student  To-Day, 
What  Kind  of  Student  Would  He  Be? 

3.  Some  Things  Jesus  Would  Not  Do  if  He  Were  a 
Business  Man  To-Day. 

4.  Some  Things  Jesus  Would  Do  if  He  Were  a 
Business  Man  To-Day. 

5.  Why  an  Early  Decision  for  the  Christian  Life  Is 
a  Matter  of  Great  Importance. 

6.  Elements  of  Paul’s  Character  Which  Are  Due  to 
His  Fellowship  with  Jesus. 

7.  Incidents  in  the  Life  of  Peter  Which  Show  that 
He  Learned  to  Be  Like  His  Master. 

8.  What  a  Person  Must  Do  to  Become  Like  Jesus  in 
Character. 

9.  If  We  Do  Not  Become  Like  Jesus,  Shall  We  Not 
Necessarily  Become  More  and  More  Unlike  Him? 

10.  What  It  Really  Means  to  Sit  at  the  Right  Hand 
of  Jesus  in  His  Kingdom. 

Putting  thk  Truths  op  the:  Lpsson  Into  Practice 

Let  all  members  of  the  class  try  for  one  week  to  solve 
every  problem  which  they  meet  in  the  home,  the  school, 
or  in  their  hours  of  recreation  by  asking,  “What  would 
Jesus  do,  under  these  circumstances?”  Have  pupils  write 
out,  and  hand  in  for  class  discussion,  unsigned  accounts 
of  experiences  they  have  had  in  thus  solving  problems. 


CHAPTER  VI 

MESSAGES  FROM  THE  WRITINGS  OF  JOHN 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

A  LETTER  WHICH  JOHN  WROTE  TO  THE  CHRIS¬ 
TIANS  OF  HIS  DAY 

The  First  Epistle  of  John 

Our  Scripture  lesson  is  the  whole  of  the  short  First 
Epistle  of  John.  John  probably  wrote  this  letter  at  about 
the  same  time  he  wrote  his  Gospel.  It  is  thought  that 
the  two  writings  of  John,  this  letter  and  his  Gospel,  may 
have  been  circulated  among  the  churches  at  the  same 
time.  The  primary  aim  of  the  letter  is  to  confirm  the 
followers  of  Jesus  in  their  faith  that  Jesus  is  God’s 
eternal  Son  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  Certain  false 
teachings  were  arising  which  cast  doubt  upon  the  fun¬ 
damental  truths  of  the  Church.  John  vigorously 
combated  these  errors. 

How  John  Had  Come  to  Know  Jesus.  I  John  1  :l-4. 
John  begins  his  letter  in  the  same  way  that  he  begins 
his  Gospel.  He  speaks  of  the  eternal  existence  of  Jesus. 
It  seems  as  though  this  disciple  who  was  so  intimate 
with  Jesus  and  who  understood  him  better,  perhaps,  than 
any  of  the  other  disciples,  could  not  think  of  Jesus  in 
any  other  way  than  as  the  eternal  Son  of  God.  In  his 
opening  sentence,  John  gives  us  some  of  the  ways  in 
which  he  has  become  acquainted  with  Jesus.  He  had 
heard  him.  He  heard  him  preach  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  He  heard  him  speak  to  lepers  and  outcasts 
when  he  was  moved  with  compassion  for  them.  He 
heard  him  pray  to  God  on  the  Mount  of  Transfigura¬ 
tion  and  in  the  upper  room  in  Jerusalem.  John  had  seen 
Jesus.  He  had  seen  him  heal  the  sick  and  raise  the  dead. 
He  had  seen  him  after  he  had  come  forth  from  the  sepul¬ 
cher  of  Joseph.  John  tells  us  that  he  had  not  only  seen 
Jesus  with  his  eyes,  but  that  he  “beheld”  him.  That  is,  he 
not  only  saw  Jesus,  but  he  also  pondered  on  the  acts  and 

66 


NEW  testament  followers  OF  JESUS  67 


words  of  Jesus.  John  says  that  he  touched  Jesus,  that 
his  “hands  handled’'  him.  There  are  certain  truths  which 
can  be  best  learned  by  a  hearty  handclasp.  John  had 
leaned  upon  the  bosom  of  Jesus  and  looked  up  into  his 
eyes. 

With  all  these  sources  of  information  John  had  come 
to  know  Jesus  intimately  and  his  conclusion  is  that 
Jesus  is  the  eternal  Word  of  God,  that  the  life  of  God  has 
in  Jesus  become  manifest  to  mankind.  The  beloved  dis¬ 
ciple  had  taken  it  as  his  life  task  to  make  this  Saviour 
known  to  the  world.  He  wrote  this  letter  that  others 
might  have  such  fellowship  with  God  and  with  God’s 
people  as  he  himself  had  come  to  enjoy. 

The  Gospel  Message  in  a  Few  Sentences.  I  John 
1 :5-10.  In  these  verses  John  summarizes  the  whole  of 
the  gospel  message.  First  of  all,  the  message  which 
Jesus  brought  to  the  world  was  a  message  concerning 
the  nature  of  God.  The  pagan  gods  were  gods  of  dark¬ 
ness.  Those  who  worshiped  them  believed  that  the  gods 
were  like  men  in  hatred  of  one  another  and  in  crimes 
against  one  another.  Jesus  revealed  a  God  of  infinite 
purity  and  perfect  righteousness. 

The  gospel  message  not  only  reveals  a  God  of  light, 
but  it  also  reveals  the  conditions  under  which  men  can 
have  fellowship  with  God.  We  must  “walk  in  the  light, 
as  he  is  in  the  light”  if  we  are  to  have  fellowship  with 
God.  Sin  is  the  great  hindrance  to  man’s  fellowship  with 
God.  The  gospel  tells  how  this  hindrance  may  be  re¬ 
moved.  “If  we  confess  our  sins,  he  is  faithful  and  right¬ 
eous  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all 
unrighteousness.”  This  cleansing  is  dependent,  in  some 
way  too  deep  for  us  to  understand  fully,  on  the  death 
of  Jesus  on  the  cross.  It  is  the  “blood  of  Jesus  his  Son” 
that  “cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.” 

Messages  to  Little  Children.  I  John  2:1-17.  John 
had  become  like  Jesus  in  his  love  for  little  children  and 
in  his  appreciation  of  the  importance  of  the  children  in 
God’s  plans.  He  had  come  to  see  that  the  redemptive 
work  of  Jesus  was  not  confined  to  the  rescue  of  indi¬ 
viduals  out  of  lives  of  sin.  He  knew  that  Jesus  had 
come  to  save  from  sin  as  well  as  to  save  out  of  sin.  John 
did  not  believe  that  it  was  necessary  for  all  people  to 


68  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


go  far  astray,  before  coming  to  know  the  fellowship  of 
God.  Therefore  his  message  to  little  children  is,  “My 
little  children,  these  things  write  I  unto  you  that  ye  may 
not  sin.”  The  gospel  of  Jesus  is  a  message  concerning 
preservation  from  sin,  as  well  as  a  message  concerning 
rescue  out  of  sin. 

The  Source  and  Power  of  Christian  Love.  I  John 
4:7-21.  This  is  one  of  the  greatest  passages  of  the  New 
Testament  on  the  subject  of  Christian  love.  The  only 
other  passage  which  can  compare  with  it  is  the  thirteenth 
chapter  of  First  Corinthians.  John  begins  with  an  ad¬ 
monition,  “Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another.”  He  tells 
us  why  we  should  love  one  another:  “love  is  of  God; 
and  every  one  that  loveth  is  begotten  of  God,  and  know- 
eth  God.  He  that  loveth  not  knoweth  not  God;  for  God 
is  love.”  The  supreme  manifestation  of  God’s  love  was 
given  when  he  sent  his  Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the 
world.  This  measureless  love  of  God  puts  us  under 
obligations,  “Beloved,  if  God  so  loved  us,  we  also  ought 
to  love  one  another.”  John  could  not  endure  the  hypo¬ 
critical  actions  of  some  people  of  his  day  who  claimed 
to  love  God  very  much,  but  who  showed  by  their  deeds 
that  they  loved  their  fellow  men  very  little.  He  spoke 
very  plainly  to  this  class  of  people,  “If  a  man  say,  I 
love  God,  and  hateth  his  brother,  he  is  a  liar:  for  he  that 
loveth  not  his  brother  whom  he  hath  seen,  cannot  love 
God  whom  he  hath  not  seen.” 

The  Place  of  Faith  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian.  I  John 
5:1-12.  This  closing  chapter  of  John’s  First  Epistle 
contains  one  of  the  great  New  Testament  passages  on 
the  subject  of  Christian  faith.  It  is  worthy  to  rank  with 
the  eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews  as  a  statement  of  the 
place  and  importance  of  faith  in  the  life  of  a  Christian. 
John  teaches  that  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Christ  is  the 
source  of  the  new  birth.  “Whosoever  believeth  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  begotten  of  God.”  But  John  shows 
that  he  is  thinking  of  faith,  not  as  a  cold  intellectual 
assent  to  a  proposition,  but  as  a  warm  and  loving  re¬ 
sponse  of  the  whole  person  to  the  personality  of  Jesus, 
a  love  which  includes  God  and  all  that  are  children  of 
God. 

John  thinks  of  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  source  of  that  cour- 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  69 


age  and  perseverance  which  insure  spiritual  victory. 
“This  is  the  victory  that  hath  overcome  the  world,  even 
our  faith.  And  who  is  he  that  overcometh  the  world, 
but  he  that  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God?” 

Lack  of  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God  is  a  serious 
offense  to  the  Father.  Can  friendship  exist  between  two 
persons  when  one  of  them  says  to  the  other,  “I  do  not 
believe  a  word  of  what  you  are  telling  me”?  So  John 
says,  “He  that  believeth  not  God  hath  made  him  a  liar; 
because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  witness  that  God 
hath  borne  concerning  his  Son.” 

Thk  Trappe:r  Boy 

In  the  heart  of  a  West  Virginia  mountain,  three  miles 
away  from  the  daylight,  sits  a  little  lad  busy  at  his  task. 
Perhaps  we  shall  be  interested  in  him  the  more  when 
we  know  that  he  bears  the  name  of  the  great  disciple 
who,  like  his  Master,  was  a  friend  of  the  children.  The 
lad’s  name  is  John,  and  his  task  is  to  open  and  close  a 
great  iron  trapdoor  in  the  mine  so  that  the  coal  cars  can 
pass  up  and  down.  John  wears  clothes  that  are  old, 
ragged,  and  dirty.  In  his  old  greasy  cap  there  is  a  little 
smoking  oil  lamp,  and  that  is  all  the  light  he  has  during 
his  hours  of  labor — almost  all  the  light  he  knows,  for  it 
is  usually  past  sunset  when  he  reaches  the  surface,  and 
the  sky  is  usually  too  overcast  with  smoke  for  him  to  see 
the  stars. 

John  is  fond  of  birds  and  often  wishes  that  he  could 
go  out  into  the  fields  and  watch  them  and  hear  them 
sing.  He  seizes  every  chance  to  increase  his  knowledge 
of  birds,  but  the  opportunities  are  few.  He  finds  a  piece 
of  chalk  somewhere  and  uses  the  big  iron  trapdoor  as 
a  blackboard.  On  it  he  draws  pictures  of  birds,  all  the 
different  kinds  he  has  learned  to  know.  He  plays  that 
these  birds  are  alive,  and  over  the  pictures  he  has  writ¬ 
ten  the  words,  “Please  do  not  scare  the  birds.”  This  is 
all  the  fun  he  has. 


70  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

TWO  LETTERS  WHICH  JOHN  WROTE  TO  HIS 

FRIENDS 

II  John;  III  John 

The  First  Epistle  of  John  was  evidently  written  to  be 
circulated  among  the  Christian  churches  of  the  time. 
In  writing  it  John  labored  better  than  he  knew  for  his 
letter  has  been  a  blessing  and  a  help  to  churches  and  to 
individual  Christians,  not  only  in  the  time  when  John 
lived  but  for  nearly  two  thousand  years  since  his  earthly 
life  came  to  an  end. 

The  other  two  epistles  of  John  were  evidently  written 
with  even  less  thought  of  their  becoming  a  part  of  the 
New  Testament.  They  are  just  short  personal  letters 
which  John  wrote  to  his  friends.  One  is  addressed  to 
a  woman  and  her  children,  the  other  to  a  man  who  w;as  a 
friend  of  John.  These  letters  are  well  worth  our  study. 
They  help  us  to  understand,  better  than  we  otherwise 
could,  the  character  of  John.  The  writer  of  these  let¬ 
ters  was  certainly  a  kindly  and  courteous  Christian  gen¬ 
tleman.  They  help  us  to  understand  the  diligence  of 
the  apostle.  He  not  only  preached  and  taught  and 
wrote  material  intended  for  general  circulation  among 
the  churches,  but  he  also  carried  on  the  same  sort  of 
work  by  private  correspondence.  Perhaps  these  two 
short  letters  are  only  samples  of  many  letters  which  John 
wrote  to  his  friends,  encouraging  them  in  their  efforts 
to  do  the  will  of  God  and  warning  them  against  the 
subtle  errors  which  were  menacing  the  Church. 

The  amount  of  good  a  person  can  do  by  letter-writing 
can  hardly  be  measured.  There  is  an  organization 
known  as  “The  Order  of  the  Golden  Pen.”  It  has  no 
officers,  no  constitution  and  by-laws,  no  meetings.  All 
that  is  required  for  membership  is  that  a  person  shall 
make  it  a  practice  to  write  three  helpful  letters  each 
week.  Some  of  these  letters  are  written  to  comfort 
those  in  sorrow,  some  to  congratulate  those  who  have 
come  into  the  possession  of  some  great  joy,  and  some 
are  letters  of  counsel  to  those  in  perplexity.  Thus  a 
member  of  the  order  would  write  one  hundred  and  fifty- 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  71 


six  such  letters  in  a  year.  John  may  not  have  followed 
exactly  this  plan  but  it  seems  certain  that  he  possessed 
the  spirit  of  the  Order  of  the  Golden  Pen. 

The  Salutation  of  a  Christian  Gentleman  to  a  Friend. 
II  John  1-3.  John  courteously  expresses  his  love  and 
respect  for  the  lady  to  whom  he  is  writing  and  assures 
her  that  this  sentiment  is  not  confined  to  him  alone,  but 
that  it  is  shared  by  “all  they  that  know  the  truth.”  It 
may  be  that  this  lady  was  one  to  whom  the  false  teach¬ 
ers  had  made  advances  and  who  was  in  danger  of  being 
led  astray.  Perhaps  that  is  why  John  wrote  to  her. 
False  doctrines  are  very  subtle  and  doubtless  in  that 
day,  as  well  as  in  our  day,  many  of  the  very  brightest 
and  most  useful  Christians  were  led  astray  by  these 
errors  and  their  lives  thus  rendered  unfruitful. 

How  skillfully  John  brings  in  the  matters  concerning 
which  he  wishes  to  speak  to  his  friend !  Even  in  his 
salutation,  he  reminds  her  that  she  has  a  host  of  friends 
who  are  devoted  to  the  truth  as  it  is  revealed  in  Jesus. 
He  reminds  her  that  the  truth  revealed  by  Jesus  is  deep 
within  the  life  of  the  true  believer  and  that  it  is  some¬ 
thing  which  will  last  forever.  Grace,  mercy,  and  peace 
are  God’s  gifts  through  Jesus  Christ.  Such  a  salutation 
must  have  caused  this  friend  of  John’s  to  stop  and  think, 
if  she  was  indeed  being  tempted  to  depart  from  the 
truth  as  it  is  revealed  in  Christ. 

Commendation  and  Warning.  II  John  4-11.  If  a  per¬ 
son  has  some  definite  things  to  say,  which  ought  to  be 
said  and  which  may  not  be  altogether  pleasant  to  the 
person  addressed,  it  is  well  to  lead  up  to  the  saying  of 
these  things  by  commending  some  action  or  character¬ 
istic  of  the  person  addressed.  This  method  of  approach 
is  both  skillful  and  courteous.  After  his  words  of  salu¬ 
tation,  John  comes  to  the  real  business  of  his  letter. 
His  purpose  in  writing  the  letter  is  to  put  this  friend  on 
her  guard  against  certain  false  teachers.  Possibly  this 
woman  looked  on  these  false  teachers  as  her  friends. 
She  may  have  entertained  them  in  her  home.  As  much 
is  suggested  by  what  John  writes  a  little  further  along. 
John  compliments  this  friend  because  some  of  her  chil¬ 
dren  are  “walking  in  truth.”  Evidently  not  all  of  them 
were  so  conducting  themselves,  but  John  passes  over 


72  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOELOWERS  OF  JESUS 


that  fact  and  mentions  only  those  who  were  loyal  and 
true  to  the  teachings  of  Jesus.  John  reminds  his  friend 
that  the  central  commandment  is  a  commandment  to 
love  one  another  and  that  this  commandment  is  “from 
the  beginning.” 

Then  John  comes  out  with  plain  words  of  warning. 
Many  deceivers  are  abroad  in  the  land.  They  deny  that 
Jesus  Christ  has  really  come  and  lived  the  life  of  a  man 
on  earth.  The  whole  structure  of  the  Church  is  en¬ 
dangered.  He  gives  his  friend  a  rule  whereby  she  may 
judge  concerning  the  new  doctrines  which  are  being  put 
forth.  John  is  not  an  obstructionist.  He  realizes  that 
there  must  be  and  ought  to  be  progress  in  the  religious 
beliefs  of  the  Church.  Perhaps  he  has  in  mind  the  words 
of  Jesus,  “When  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  shall 
guide  you  into  all  the  truth,”  John  16:13.  And  so  John 
writes  to  this  friend  saying,  “Whosoever  goeth  onward 
and  abideth  not  in  the  teachings  of  Christ,  hath  not 
God.”  It  is  not  the  going  onward  that  is  condemned, 
but  the  failure  to  abide  in  the  teachings  of  Jesus. 

John  closes  the  subject  by  warning  his  friend  that  she 
ought  not  to  receive  into  her  house  one  of  these  false 
teachers,  for  in  so  doing  she  would  become  a  partaker 
in  evil  works. 

A  True  and  Loyal  Friend.  Ill  John  1-4.  One  can 

hardly  read  the  salutation  in  this  letter  of  John  to  a 
friend  without  realizing  that  the  writer  was  a  warm¬ 
hearted  Christian  gentleman,  wholly  loyal  and  true  to 
those  whom  he  could  claim  as  his  friends.  John  is  writ¬ 
ing  to  a  man  in  this  letter,  consequently  we  find  a  certain 
freedom  from  the  restraint  which  marked  the  letter  which 
he  wrote  to  a  woman.  What  a  hearty  salutation,  “The 
elder  unto  Gains  the  beloved,  whom  I  love  in  truth” ! 
John  tells  Gains  that  he  has  been  praying  that  he  may 
prosper  and  be  kept  in  good  health.  He  has  heard  good 
news  concerning  Gains  and  hastens  to  write  congratu¬ 
lating  him,  and  telling  him  how  glad  it  has  made  him  to 
learn  that  his  child  is  “walking  in  truth.” 

Christian  Hospitality.  HI  John  5-8.  John  especially 
commends  Gains  for  his  hospitality  in  receiving  certain 
Christian  teachers  who  had  come  to  the  community  in 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  73 


which  Gaius  was  living.  Gains  had  received  these  breth¬ 
ren  kindly  and  they  in  turn  had  reported  to  John,  telling 
him  of  the  faithful  services  of  Gaius  in  the  church  of 
which  he  was  a  member.  John  urges  his  friend  to  con¬ 
tinue  his  good  work  of  receiving  hospitably  these  wan¬ 
dering  teachers  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  tells  him 
that  he  will  be  doing  a  further  service  if  he  forwards 
these  brethren  on  their  journey  in  a  worthy  way.  He 
probably  means  that  Gaius  may  well  give  these  traveling 
missionaries  of  the  cross  such  financial  assistance  as  he 
can,  and  that  in  so  doing  he  will  become  a  fellow  worker 
with  them  in  the  task  of  building  Christ’s  Kingdom  in 
the  world. 

A  First  Century  Trouble  Maker.  Ill  John  9-12. 

There  was  in  the  church  of  which  Gaius  was  a  member 
a  certain  man  named  Diotrephes  who  seems  to  have  had 
some  sort  of  grudge  against  the  disciple  John  and  was 
doing  a  great  deal  of  slanderous  talking  about  him.  This 
Diotrephes  had  refused  to  receive  the  traveling  mis¬ 
sionaries  of  whom  John  speaks.  Moreover,  he  was  so 
unfriendly  toward  them,  perhaps  because  they  were 
friends  of  John,  that  he  forbade  anyone  else  to  receive 
them  and  threatened  to  put  out  of  the  church  anyone 
who  disobeyed  his  commands. 

John  sees  in  this  trouble  maker  a  person  who  is  essen¬ 
tially  self-centered.  He  is  making  a  disturbance  because 
he  is  determined  to  be  at  the  head  of  the  church  of  which 
he  is  a  member.  His  disturbances  among  the  brethren 
are  due  to  the  fact  that  he  “loveth  to  have  the  preemi¬ 
nence  among  them.”  On  the  other  hand,  John  commends 
a  certain  Demetrius  who  had  “the  witness  of  all  men, 
and  of  the  truth  itself.” 

The  Youngest  Wage  Earner  in  New  York  City 

The  National  Child  Labor  Committee  recently  made 
an  investigation  of  the  tenement  home  industry  in  New 
York  City.  Into  the  dingy  tenements  of  the  East  Side 
of  New  York  City,  work  of  various  kinds,  such  as  little 
children  can  do,  is  brought.  Garments  are  made  by  the 
mother  and  older  children,  but  certain  parts  of  the  work 
are  done  by  children  who  are  under  four  years  of  age. 


74  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOELOWERS  OF  JESUS 


They  pull  out  basting  threads,  for  instance,  or  put  to¬ 
gether  the  parts  of  artificial  flowers.  The  rents  are  so 
high,  and  the  wages  paid  the  workers  so  low,  that  it  is 
necessary  for  every  member  of  the  family  to  take  some 
part  in  the  earning  of  a  living. 

This  committee  found  many  very  young  children  who 
were  confined  to  this  painstaking  labor  practically  the 
whole  of  their  waking  hours.  They  were  especially  im¬ 
pressed  by  the  case  of  a  little  girl  called  Marietta,  the 
daughter  of  foreign-speaking  parents.  She  was  so  young 
that  she  could  not  tell  what  time  it  was  by  the  clock. 
She  was  engaged  in  putting  together  the  minute  parts 
of  artificial  flowers.  The  flowers  she  was  assembling 
were  forget-me-nots ;  the  petals  of  which  are  very  small. 
The  little  girl  had  not  learned  to  count,  but  she  had 
learned  to  select  the  right  parts  of  each  flower  and  to 
put  them  together  in  order.  The  task  required  a  con¬ 
stant  eyestrain  and  a  nervous  tension  which  no  child 
ought  to  undergo. 

Examining  the  flowers  the  child  was  making,  the 
members  of  the  committee  found  that  each  flower  was 
made  up  of  three  parts  which  the  little  girl  was  expected 
to  string  together  on  a  tiny  paper-covered  wire.  They 
examined  a  pile  of  flowers  which  the  child  had  made  in 
one  day  and  counted  them.  There  were  five  hundred  and 
forty.  This  meant  that  the  small  fingers  had  handled 
that  day  sixteen  hundred  and  twenty  separate  pieces  and 
strung  them  by  passing  the  paper-covered  wire  through 
a  hole  in  each  tiny  piece,  a  hole  hardly  large  enough  to 
admit  a  cambric  needle. 

For  this  baby’s  day  of  labor,  the  family  received  five 
cents.  And  the  flowers  were  being  sent  out  to  sell  for 
large  sums  of  money.  Some  one  was  growing  wealthy 
through  profits  derived  from  the  labor  of  little  Marietta 
and  hundreds  of  other  children  like  her. 

The  Lesson  Prayer 

O  God,  we  know  that  thou  art  righteous  and  just. 
Through  thy  servants  the  Hebrew  prophets  thou  didst 
speak  condemning  all  forms  of  oppression  and  injustice. 
Thou  hast  shown  us  in  thy  Son  the  better  way  of  service 


4 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  75 

and  helpfulness.  Yet  the  world  has  never  learned  to 
walk  in  the  way  that  thy  Son  walked.  Selfishness  and 
lack  of  brotherliness  are  still  everywhere  abundant.  Help 
us,  as  we  take  up  the  work  of  the  world  which  will  soon 
fall  upon  us,  to  lift  the  life  of  our  times  to  higher  stand¬ 
ards.  Help  us  to  labor  unselfishly  and  ardently  that  we 
may  do  something  toward  the  building  of  a  Kingdom  of 
justice  and  brotherhood  on  earth.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“Onward,  Christian  Soldiers.”  “Studies  of  Familiar 
Hymns,”  page  107. 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

CHILD  LABOR  IN  AMERICA 
James  5:1-6 

In  our  Scripture  lesson,  James  speaks  forcefully  of  the 
curse  which  wealth  earned  by  oppression  and  injustice 
ultimately  brings  upon  its  possessor.  There  were  evi¬ 
dently  a  good  many  people  in  that  day  who  were  an¬ 
xious  to  get  rich  quickly  and  who  did  not  care  how  they 
secured  their  wealth.  They  were  willing  to  defraud  their 
employees.  They  bought  their  labor  in  the  cheapest 
market.  They  did  not  care  whether  the  wage  they  paid 
was  enough  for  a  decent  living  or  whether  it  was  not. 
They  never  stopped  to  ask  whether  the  wage  they  paid 
those  who  worked  for  them  was  a  just  proportion  of  the 
product  of  their  employees’  labor.  They  took  every  op¬ 
portunity  to  escape  the  payment  of  wages  at  all  if  they 
thought  they  could  keep  the  pay  back  by  some  fraudulent 
claim. 

James  evidently  thought  that  the  Christian  Church 
Ought  to  condemn  such  oppression  and  greed.  He  thought 
that  the  religion  of  Jesus  ought  to  raise  up  friends  for 
all  who  suffered  injustice,  friends  courageous  enough  to 
defend  those  who  were  not  able  to  defend  themselves. 
We  cannot  doubt  that  James  would  have  said  some  plain 
things  about  child  labor  conditions  in  our  own  country. 


76  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 

Some  Truths  erom  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

John  included  little  children  in  his  letters  because  he 
knew  their  value  to  the  great  cause  in  which  he  was  so 
deeply  interested.  He  knew  that  the  Christian  Church 
could  never  conquer  the  world  if  it  neglected  the  chil¬ 
dren.  He  had  learned  the  lesson  from  his  great  Leader 
who  said,  “Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me.” 

John  knew  that  preservation  is  better  than  rescue. 
He  wrote  to  little  children  that  he  might  save  them  from 
going  astray  into  lives  of  disobedience  to  God.  He  would 
have  been  a  bitter  enemy  to  any  influence  which  causes 
children  to  come  under  the  danger  of  sin. 

John  believed  that  even  young  children  may  know  God 
in  a  very  real  way.  He  says  in  his  first  letter,  “I  have 
written  unto  you,  little  children,  because  you  know  the 
Father.”  John  would  have  been  in  favor  of  a  large  and 
effective  program  of  religious  education  for  children  and 
youth,  if  the  matter  had  been  under  discussion  in  his 
day. 

John  was  on  the  watch  for  anything  which  might  lead 
childhood  away  from  the  pathway  of  virtue  and  truth. 
He  wrote  to  a  friend  and  her  children  warning  them 
against  certain  false  teachers  who  were  abroad  leading 
many  people  away  from  the  truth  as  it  is  revealed  in 
Christ.  We  may  be  sure  that,  if  John  were  living  to-day, 
he  would  be  on  his  guard  watching  every  enemy  of  child 
life. 

Review  Questions 

1.  What  is  the  primary  aim  of  The  First  Epistle  of 
John? 

2.  Name  some  of  the  ways  in  which  John  had  come 
to  know  Jesus. 

3.  What  is  John's  idea  as  to  who  Jesus  is? 

4.  Name  some  of  the  important  items  in  John’s 
summary  of  the  gospel  message.  I  John  1 :5-10. 

5. ^  Name  two  great  New  Testament  passages  on  the 
subject  of  Christian  love.  Compare  them. 

6.  What  does  John  have  to  say  about  the  place  of 
faith  in  the  Christian  life? 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  77 


7.  What  characteristics  of  John  are  shown  in  his  two 
brief  letters  to  his  friends? 

8.  What  rule  for  judging  new  doctrines  does  John 
give  in  his  second  Epistle? 

9.  From  John’s  letters  what  troubles  do  you  think 
existed  in  the  early  Christian  Church? 

10.  What  do  you  think  John  would  say  about  child 
labor  such  as  that  shown  in  the  stories  of  the  trapper 
boy  and  Marietta? 

Bibi^e:  Verses 

Lev.  19:13;  Deut.  24:14,  15;  Isa.  1:16,  17;  Jer.  22:13, 
14;  Amos  8:4-6;  Micah  2:1,  2,  9;  Zech.  8:5;  Mai.  3:5; 
Luke  18:15. 

Study  Topics 

1.  Jesus’  Concern  for  the  Rights  and  the  Safety  of 
Children.  Matt.  18:1-6,  10-14. 

2.  Right  Kinds  of  Child  Labor.  (School  tasks,  home 
chores.) 

3.  Wrong  Kinds  of  Child  Labor.  (Factory  work; 
Work  Injurious  to  Growth  and  Health  of  Body;  Work 
Involving  Moral  Dangers.) 

4.  Child  Labor  Laws  of  Our  State.  (A  lawyer  may 
be  asked  to  attend  the  meeting  and  speak  on  this 
subject.) 

5.  The  Life  of  a  Newsboy.  (See  page  79,  in  “Mis¬ 
sionary  Programs  and  Incidents,”  by  Trull.  It  will  be 
valuable  for  the  one  taking  this  topic  to  make  a  study 
of  the  conditions  among  newsboys  in  his  community  if 
there  are  any  there.) 

6.  The  Life  of  a  Bootblack.  (See  page  80,  in  “Mis¬ 
sionary  Programs  and  Incidents,”  by  Trull.) 

7.  The  Coal-Breaker  Boys.  (See  page  82,  in  “Mis¬ 
sionary  Programs  and  Incidents,”  by  Trull.) 

8.  The  Effect  of  Factory  Work  on  the  Physical  De¬ 
velopment  of  Children.  (A  physician  may  be  asked  to 
attend  the  meeting  and  speak  on  this  subject.) 

9.  Ought  We  to  Buy  and  Use  Articles  Manufactured 
and  Sold  by  Those  Who  Are  Making  Large  Profits 
Through  Child  Labor? 


78  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


10.  “The  Children  of  the  Mills,”  by  Ella  Wheeler 
Wilcox  (Have  the  poem  recited  by  a  pupil)  : 

They  no  longer  shout  and  gambol  in  the  blossom-laden  fields, 
And  their  laughter  does  not  echo  down  the  street. 

They  have  gone  across  the  hills;  they  are  working  in  the  mills, 
Oh,  the  tired  little  hands  and  aching  feet! 

And  weary,  dreary  life  that  stunts  and  kills! 

Oh,  the  roaring  of  the  mills,  of  the  mills. 

All  the  pleasures  known  of  childhood  are  but  tales  of  fairyland. 

What  to  them  are  singing  birds  and  rushing  streams? 

For  the  rumble  of  the  rill  seems  an  echo  of  the  mill, 

And  they  see  but  flying  spindles  in  their  dreams. 

In  this  boasted  land  of  freedom  they  are  bonded  baby  slaves, 
And  the  busy  world  goes  by  and  does  not  heed. 

They  are  driven  to  the  mill  just  to  glut  and  overfill 
Bursting  coffers  of  the  mighty  monarch.  Greed. 

When  they  perish  we  are  told  it  is  God’s  will, 

Oh,  the  roaring  of  the  mill,  of  the  mill. 

Putting  the  Truths  oe  the  Lesson  Into  Practice 

Appoint  a  Committee  on  Child  Labor.  Have  this 
committee  write  to  The  National  Child  Labor  Com¬ 
mittee,  105  E.  Twenty-second  St.,  New  York  City,  for 
information  concerning  child  labor  conditions  in  the  sev¬ 
eral  states.  If  conditions  in  the  local  community  are 
such  as  to  make  it  desirable,  have  a  study  of  child  labor 
conditions  there.  An  opportunity  may  arise  for  the 
class  to  help  by  circulating  petitions  or  in  other  ways. 


CHAPTER  VII 

ANDREW,  A  FAITHFUL  MAN  OF  AVERAGE 

ABILITY 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

TWO  BROTHERS  WHO  HELPED  ONE  ANOTHER 
Mark  13:1-8;  John  1:35-42;  6:1-14;  12:20-36 

The  differences  of  character  among  the  disciples 
were  not  confined  to  individuals  who  had  lived  such 
different  kinds  of  lives  that  wide  differences  of  character 
would  be  only  a  natural  result.  We  should  expect  Mat¬ 
thew  the  publican  to  be  a  very  different  kind  of  man 
from  Simon  the  Canansean.  Simon  Peter  and  Andrew 
were  brothers,  yet  no  two  men  among  the  Twelve  seem 
to  have  differed  more  greatly  from  each  other.  It  some¬ 
times  happens  so  with  brothers.  We  have  studied  the 
character  of  Peter  in  a  recent  lesson.  In  this  lesson  we 
are  to  study  the  character  of  Peter’s  brother,  Andrew, 
and  we  shall  find  that  in  most  respects  the  brothers  were 
opposites  in  disposition.  Yet  these  two  brothers  were 
very  intimate.  They  move  together  in  brotherly  fellow¬ 
ship  through  the  Gospel  narratives.  They  were  able  to 
help  each  other  because  they  differed  the  one  from  the 
other.  When  Jesus  sent  out  his  apostles,  two  by  two, 
to  preach  and  to  heal,  Peter  and  Andrew  were  sent  out 
together. 

A  Humble  Flame  Lights  a  Torch  Which  Illumines 
the  World.  John  1  :35-42.  In  most  ways  Peter  was  a 
far  greater  man  than  Andrew.  It  is  probable  that  An¬ 
drew  could  never  have  preached  such  a  sermon  as  Peter 
preached  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost.  Peter  was  a  man  of 
more  than  average  native  ability  while  Andrew  was 
quite  evidently  a  man  of  only  mediocre  ability.  And 
yet  if  it  had  not  been  for  Andrew,  Peter  might  have 
failed  to  become  a  disciple  of  Jesus.  To  Andrew  belongs 
the  honor  of  having  been  one  of  the  first  two  disciples 
of  Jesus.  Like  John,  Andrew  had  been  stirred  by  the 

79 


80  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


preaching  of  John  the  Baptist  and  had  become  a  disciple 
of  John.  When  the  Baptist  pointed  out  Jesus,  calling 
him  the  Lamb  of  God,  Andrew  and  John  heard  the  words 
of  their  teacher  and  they  followed  Jesus,  became  ac¬ 
quainted  with  him,  and,  believing  that  he  was  the 
Messiah,  became  his  avowed  disciples. 

The  first  thing  Andrew  did  after  his  day’s  visit  with 
Jesus  was  to  go  out  and  find  his  brother,  Simon  Peter. 
Andrew  said  to  his  brother,  ‘‘We  have  found  the  Mes¬ 
siah.”  Then  Andrew  brought  his  brother  to  Jesus  and 
Jesus  accepted  him  at  once  as  one  of  his  disciples,  hav¬ 
ing  evidently  seen  the  great  possibilities  lying  dormant 
in  this  Galilaean  fisherman.  Compared  with  Peter,  An¬ 
drew  was  only  a  humble  light  in  the  world,  but  we  must 
remember  that  it  was  his  enthusiastic  announcement 
and  his  entreaties  which  brought  Peter  to  Jesus.  His 
humble  flame  lighted  a  torch  which  has  illumined  the 
Avorld. 

An  Honest  Fisherman.  Matt.  4:18-20.  Andrew,  like 
Peter  his  brother,  was  a  fisherman  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 
He  and  Peter  were  in  partnership  with  Zebedee  and  his 
two  sons,  John  and  James.  Everywhere  in  the  Gospel 
narratives,  Andrew  appears  as  one  of  those  honest  sons 
of  toil  who  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  in  every  age.  He 
knew  little  of  the  Pharisaic  learning  of  the  day  and  was 
wholly  free  from  Pharisaic  hypocrisy.  He  had  an  open 
and  honest  mind  which  was  unspoiled  by  prejudice. 

A  Patriotic  Citizen.  Mark  13:1-8.  With  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  Judas,  the  disciples  of  Jesus  were  all  intensely 
patriotic.  Judas  from  the  first  seems  to  have  loved  him¬ 
self  more  than  he  loved  his  country.  As  for  the  other 
eleven  disciples,  they  were  full  of  enthusiasm  for  their 
country.  They  longed  to  see  it  free  again  as  it  had 
been  in  the  glorious  days  of  David  and  Solomon.  They 
believed  that  the  Hebrew  nation  was  to  rise  to  a  posi¬ 
tion  of  rulership  over  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Even 
after  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  they  still  clung  to  these 
patriotic  hopes  and  said  to  him,  “Lord,  dost  thou  at 
this  time  restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel?” 

One  day  Jesus  and  his  disciples  were  going  out  of  the 
Temple  and  some  one  of  the  disciples  said  to  Jesus, 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  81 


“Teacher,  behold,  what  manner  of  stones  and  what  man¬ 
ner  of  buildings !”  Of  a  truth  the  stones  were  very  great 
in  size  and  Herod’s  Temple  was  a  building  of  splendor 
and  magnificence.  The  Jews  were  justly  proud  of  it  and 
the  disciples  shared  in  this  pride.  But  Jesus  saw  that 
this  was  the  time  to  give  his  disciples  a  little  glance 
into  the  future.  They  must  learn  that  the  true  greatness 
of  a  nation  does  not  consist  in  magnificent  buildings 
but  in  righteousness  among  its  rulers  and  its  people. 
With  a  tone  of  deep  sadness  in  his  voice  Jesus  said  to 
his  disciples,  “Seest  thou  these  great  buildings?  there 
shall  not  be  left  here  one  stone  upon  another,  which  shall 
not  be  thrown  down.” 

The  disciples  were  surprised  and  saddened  by  the 
words  of  their  Teacher.  But  it  was  only  Peter,  James, 
John,  and  Andrew  who  afterward  came  to  Jesus  and 
asked  him  to  explain  the  statement  which  he  had  made. 
They  wished  to  know  when  the  things  which  Jesus  had 
mentioned  would  come  to  pass  and  what  sign  they  should 
expect  when  the  words  of  Jesus  were  about  to  be  ful¬ 
filled.  Possibly  it  was  the  intense  patriotism  of  these 
four  which  led  them  to  interview  their  Teacher  on  the 
subject. 

A  Resourceful  Man.  John  6:1-14.  Andrew  was  a 
good  kind  of  man  to  have  around  in  a  time  of  emer¬ 
gency.  He  was  resourceful.  He  was  calm  and  usually 
had  stored  away  in  his  mind  bits  of  information  which 
were  very  much  needed.  An  illustration  of  these  traits 
of  Andrew’s  character  is  seen  in  the  account  of  the 
feeding  of  the  five  thousand.  Jesus  had  asked  Philip 
where  the  bread  could  be  secured  with  which  to  feed  the 
multitude  before  they  departed  for  their  homes.  In  a 
state  of  mind  bordering  on  consternation,  Philip  had 
replied,  “Two  hundred  shillings’  worth  of  bread  is  not 
sufficient  for  them,  that  every  one  may  take  a  little.” 
But  it  was  Andrew  who  knew  just  how  much  food  was 
present  in  the  company  and  who  had  it.  He  remarked 
in  his  shrewd  way,  “There  is  a  lad  here,  who  hath  five 
barley  loaves,  and  two  fishes:  but  what  are  these  among 
so  many?” 

A  Friendly  Adviser.  John  12:20-36.  One  day,  toward 


82  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


the  close  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus,  some  Greeks  who 
were  in  Judea  to  attend  the  feast  of  the  passover,  came 
to  Philip  and  asked  him  if  they  might  see  Jesus.  These 
people  from  a  distant  land  had  in  some  way  become 
worshipers  of  Jehovah.  They  had  heard,  too,  of  the 
great  Teacher  from  Galilee  and  they  longed  for  a  few 
moments  of  conversation  with  him  before  they  returned 
to  their  homes.  “Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus,”  said  these 
courteous  foreigners  to  Philip.  The  name,  Philip,  is  a 
Greek  name,  and  that  may  be  why  this  particular  apostle 
was  sought  out  by  these  Greeks.  It  has  been  suggested 
that  Philip  may  have  been  part  Greek,  but  of  this  we 
have  no  evidence. 

Philip  was  evidently  perplexed.  He  did  not  know 
whether  he  ought  to  take  these  Greeks  to  see  Jesus,  or 
whether  it  would  be  better  to  refuse  their  request.  He 
sought  the  advice  of  his  friend,  Andrew.  Philip  and 
Andrew  were  from  the  same  town  and  it  is  probable 
that  Philip  had  formed  the  habit  of  asking  his  friend’s 
advice  in  times  of  perplexity.  Andrew  gave  the  right 
kind  of  advice  and  the  Greeks  had  the  opportunity  they 
so  much  desired.  They  not  only  saw  Jesus,  but  he  talked 
with  them  and  gave  them  some  of  the  most  profound 
statements  of  truth  contained  in  the  New  Testament. 
It  would  surely  have  been  a  blunder  to  refuse  the  Greeks, 
and  we  may  thank  Andrew  for  the  fact  that  we  have  this 
account  in  the  Gospels. 

John  G.  Paton,  Missionary  to  the  South  Sea  Islands 

Some  sixty-five  years  ago  there  sailed  away  from 
Scotland  a  young  man  bound  for  the  South  Sea  Islands 
as  a  missionary.  His  name  was  John  G.  Paton  and  he 
was  one  of  the  first  missionaries  to  a  large  group  of 
islands  lying  northeast  of  Australia.  It  was  nearly  ten 
years  before  the  teaching  of  Paton  began  to  have  any 
marked  influence  over  the  natives.  The  story  of  how 
heathenism  finally  gave  way  before  the  gospel  is  one 
of  the  most  dramatic  in  missionary  history. 

On  the  island  of  Aniwa,  where  Paton  had  established 
his  headquarters,  there  was  only  one  small  pond  where 
the  people  could  get  drinking  water.  In  times  of  abun- 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  83 


dant  rain  there  was  plenty  of  water  in  this  little  pond, 
but  in  times  of  drought  it  became  almost  dry.  Certain 
native  medicine  men  claimed  jurisdiction  over  this  un¬ 
certain  water  supply.  They  claimed  that  they  could 
cause  rain  at  any  time  they  chose,  likewise  that  they 
could  cause  the  rains  to  fail  at  any  time.  They  thus 
extorted  gifts  from  the  superstitious  populace. 

Mr.  Paton  determined  to  sink  a  well  in  the  island  in 
hopes  that  he  might  find  fresh  water.  The  old  chief 
advised  him  not  to  try  so  foolish  an  undertaking.  He 
assured  the  missionary  that  rain  came  down  from  heaven 
and  not  up  out  of  the  earth.  He  told  him  that  if  he 
should  by  chance  find  water  by  digging,  it  would  be 
sea  water,  and  he  would  fall  through  into  the  ocean  and 
be  eaten  by  the  sharks.  Mr.  Paton  could  not  be  turned 
from  his  purpose  by  any  of  these  arguments.  He  knew, 
nevertheless,  that  he  ran  certain  risks  in  undertaking  to 
dig  a  well.  If  he  failed  to  find  water,  or  found  only  salt 
sea  water,  the  natives  would  lose  all  faith  in  him  and 
would  be  slow  to  accept  his  teaching  on  matters  of 
religion. 

When  the  well  reached  a  certain  depth,  a  fine  supply 
of  fresh,  cool  water  was  found  and  the  astonishment  of 
the  chief  and  his  people  was  boundless.  The  finding  of 
water  in  the  earth  was  to  them  a  miracle.  They  brought 
their  wooden  idols  and  their  idols  of  stone  and  cast 
them  down  at  the  missionary’s  feet.  The  old  chief  gath¬ 
ered  his  people  about  him  and  addressed  them  thus : 
“Something  here  in  my  heart  tells  me  that  the  Jehovah 
God  does  exist,  the  Invisible  One,  whom  we  never  heard 
of  nor  saw  until  the  missionary  brought  him  to  our 
knowledge.  .  .  .  The  gods  of  Aniwa  cannot  hear,  cannot 
help  us,  like  the  God  of  the  missionary.  Henceforth  I  am 
a  follower  of  Jehovah  God.” 


84  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

“ANDREW,  SIMON  PETER’S  BROTHER” 

Matt.  10:1-23;  Acts  1:6-14 

The  writers  of  the  New  Testament  often  speak  of 
Andrew  as  the  brother  of  Simon  Peter.  Peter  was  so 
well  known  that  they  take  it  for  granted  that  those  to 
whom  they  write  have  heard  of  him.  But  with  Andrew 
the  case  is  different.  They  identify  him  by  connecting 
his  name  with  that  of  his  more  famous  brother.  Per¬ 
haps  this  is  as  Andrew  would  have  wished  it  to  be,  for 
all  the  accounts  we  have  of  him  indicate  that  he  was  a 
modest  and  humble  man.  He  was  quite  evidently  free 
from  the  selfish  ambition  which  characterized  the  dis¬ 
ciple  John  at  the  beginning  of  his  fellowship  with  Jesus. 
Such  men  as  Andrew  are  greatly  needed  in  the  world 
and  in  the  Church — men  who  will  take  second  place  and 
make  good  in  it,  men  who  are  willing  to  do  their  best 
in  the  task  assigned  them,  even  though  they  are  known 
only  as  “Simon  Peter’s  brother.” 

Andrew  in  the  School  of  Jesus.  Matt.  10:1-23.  When 
Andrew  heard  the  call  of  Jesus,  “Come  ye  after  me,  and 
I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men,”  he  left  his  nets  lying 
on  the  beach  and  followed  Jesus.  From  that  moment 
he  was  a  pupil  in  the  school  of  Jesus.  He  seems  to  have 
been  a  model  pupil.  He  was  eager  to  learn.  We  have 
seen  how  he  and  three  other  disciples  came  to  Jesus 
asking  him  to  explain  what  he  had  said  about  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  Herod’s  Temple.  He  was  friendly  and  peaceable. 
We  have  seen  how  James  and  John  stirred  up  trouble 
among  the  disciples  by  their  selfish  request  that  they 
should  have  the  chief  offices  in  the  kingdom.  We  have 
no  reason  to  believe  that  Andrew  ever  entertained  such 
selfish  hopes.  On  the  other  hand,  he  was  decidedly 
helpful  and  the  other  disciples  fell  into  the  habit  of 
going  to  him  as  a  sort  of  Ways  and  Means  Committee. 
It  is  a  good  thing  for  a  school  to  have  a  number  of 
Andrews  in  it.  Andrew’s  attitude  toward  his  Teacher 
was,  so  far  as  we  are  told,  always  an  attitude  of  respect 
and  obedience.  This  cannot  be  said  of  his  brother,  Peter. 
When  Jesus  told  Peter  that  before  the  crowing  of  the 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  85 


cock  he  would  deny  that  he  knew  his  Teacher,  Peter 
still  insisted  that  he  would  do  no  such  thing.  On  one 
occasion  Peter  took  it  upon  himself  to  rebuke  Jesus  for 
certain  things  which  Jesus  had  said.  We  can  hardly 
think  of  Andrew  as  speaking  to  Jesus  in  the  way  Peter 
did. 

His  Brother’s  Keeper.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  that  when 
Simon  Peter  and  Andrew  were  boys  at  Bethsaida  on  the 
shores  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  Peter  would  be  reckless, 
always  running  risks ;  Andrew  would  be  forever  cau¬ 
tioning  his  more  venturesome  brother.  Peter  needed 
Andrew  to  hold  him  steady ;  Andrew  needed  Peter  to 
stir  his  more  sluggish  soul  to  activity. 

This  relation  of  helpfulness  continued  far  into  their 
manhood  years.  Peter  married  and  moved  to  Caper¬ 
naum,  where  he  had  a  house.  Andrew,  too,  left  Beth¬ 
saida  and  accompanied  his  brother  to  Capernaum.  The 
two  brothers  lived  in  the  same  house.  They  evidently 
owned  it  in  partnership,  for  Mark  calls  it  “the  house  of 
Simon  and  Andrew.”  They  owned  their  fishing  nets 
together  and  they  were  working  side  by  side,  casting 
their  nets  into  the  sea,  when  Jesus  called  them  to  be 
disciples.  It  is  easy  for  us  to  believe  that  in  this  close 
fellowship  the  brothers  were  very  helpful  to  each  other, 
and  that  Andrew’s  action  in  going  first  to  his  brother 
with  the  glad  tidings  concerning  the  finding  of  the  Mes¬ 
siah  was  not  an  isolated  incident  but  an  illustration  of 
his  constant  habit  of  fellowship  and  helpfulness.  It  is 
a  significant  fact  that  when  Peter  committed  his  most 
grievous  blunders,  such  as  denying  his  Lord,  Andrew 
was  not  by  his  side.  Perhaps  if  he  had  been  there  the 
result  might  have  been  different. 

With  the  Other  Disciples  After  the  Resurrection  of 
Jesus.  Acts  1  :6-14.  Andrew  was  one  of  the  witnesses 
to  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  He  was  with  the  other  dis¬ 
ciples  when  Jesus  bade  them  farewell  on  the  Mount  of 
Olives  and  he  was  also  present  at  the  gathering  in  the 
upper  room  in  Jerusalem  after  the  ascension  of  Jesus. 
Here  we  find  the  name  of  Andrew  mentioned  for  the 
last  time  in  the  New  Testament.  He  was,  however,  with 
the  company  of  the  disciples  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost 


86  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


for  we  are  told  that  “they  were  all  together  in  one  place.” 
Moreover,  Jesus  had  commanded  his  followers  to  tarry  in 
Jerusalem  until  the  Holy  Spirit  should  come  upon  them 
and  we  know  that  Andrew  would  have  been  obedient  to 
this  commandment  of  Jesus.  Andrew  was  still  with  the 
other  disciples  when  the  first  deacons  were  chosen  by 
the  growing  Christian  Church,  for  we  are  told  that 
“the  twelve  called  the  multitude  of  the  disciples  unto 
them,”  and  made  arrangements  whereby  the  deacons 
should  be  chosen.  Acts  6:1-6. 

It  is  probable  that  Andrew  went  away  to  some  other 
field  of  labor  soon  after  the  time  of  the  great  persecu¬ 
tion  which  broke  out  after  the  stoning  of  Stephen,  al¬ 
though  he  evidently  remained  courageously  in  Jerusalem 
until  the  worst  of  the  persecution  had  passed.  We  are 
told  that  “they  were  all  scattered  abroad  throughout 
the  regions  of  Judaea  and  Samaria,  except  the  apostles,” 
Acts  8:1.  A  little  later  in  the  same  narrative  we  are  told 
that  “the  apostles  that  were  at  Jerusalem”  sent  Peter 
and  John  on  a  mission  tour  through  Samaria.  The  lan¬ 
guage  seems  to  indicate  that  only  a  part  of  the  apostles 
were  at  that  time  in  Jerusalem.  Possibly  some  had  al¬ 
ready  been  sent  out  on  missions  through  Judea  similar 
to  that  on  which  Peter  and  John  were  sent.  Andrew, 
therefore,  may  not  have  been  one  of  the  company  at  the 
time  when  Peter  and  John  were  sent  into  Samaria. 

A  Missionary  to  Distant  Lands.  We  have  now  fol¬ 
lowed  Andrew  as  far  as  we  can  in  the  New  Testament 
narratives.  Certain  traditions  concerning  him  have  come 
down  to  us  from  the  early  centuries  and  while  they  may 
not  be  exact  history,  they  are  probably  founded  on  facts. 
To  the  north  of  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Caspian  Sea  there 
lies  a  vast,  level  country  which  in  ancient  times  was 
called  Scythia.  Its  inhabitants  were  wild  barbarians  who 
now  and  then  came  swarming  forth  from  their  ancestral 
abode  and  swept  southward  and  westward  destroying 
everything  in  their  path.  It  is  said  that  Andrew  became 
a  missionary  to  these  wild  northern  barbarians,  that  he 
made  his  abode  with  them  for  many  years,  and  intro¬ 
duced  Christianity  among  them. 

Another  tradition  states  that  Andrew  later  returned 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  87 

from  Scythia  and  took  up  mission  work  in  northern 
Greece  where  he  perished  in  one  of  the  persecutions 
against  the  Christians.  He  is  said  to  have  been  crucified 
on  a  cross  shaped  like  the  capital  letter  X.  This  kind 
of  cross  is,  therefore,  called  the  Cross  of  St.  Andrew. 


A  NivGro  Convict  Who  Proved  that  He  Was  Worth 

Saving 

Joe  Stebbins  was  a  Negro  lad  in  a  certain  city  of 
Georgia.  He  had  never  known  what  it  is  to  have  a  real 
home,  for  his  father  was  dead  and  his  mother  was  a  poor 
drunken  creature,  the  worst  character  in  her  part  of  the 
town.  It  is  little  wonder  that  Joe  early  fell  into  vicious 
habits  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  found  himself  a  member 
of  the  chain  gang,  mending  the  streets  of  the  city  by  day 
and  sleeping  in  a  dingy  cell  at  night. 

One  day  this  convict  lad  was  working  on  a  street  in 
front  of  a  large  brick  building  where  a  school  for  colored 
boys  was  being  conducted.  He  saw  well-dressed  Negro 
boys  going  into  the  building  with  books  under  their 
arms.  He  wondered  whether  he  could  learn  to  read  if 
he  had  a  chance.  He  thought  how  fine  it  would  be  if 
he  could  be  dressed  like  the  boys  in  the  school  and  could 
sit  in  the  cool  schoolroom  and  study  instead  of  being 
kept  out  on  the  hot  streets  pounding  rocks. 

The  matron  of  the  school  saw  the  Negro  convict’s 
wistful  glances  and  determined  to  see  what  she  could 
do  for  him.  She  finally  secured  his  release  and  he  be¬ 
came  a  member  of  her  school.  She  paid  his  fine  and 
gave  her  promise  for  his  good  behavior  in  the  future. 
The  Negro  boy  had  found  a  real  friend  and  he  determined 
to  be  worthy  of  the  confidence  of  the  good  woman  who 
had  rescued  him  from  the  chain  gang.  He  studied  dili¬ 
gently.  He  learned  to  know  of  the  great  Friend  who 
came  to  teach  a  universal  brotherhood,  became  a  noble 
Christian  man  and  is  living  a  useful  life.  He  stud¬ 
ied  medicine,  and  his  days  are  spent  ministering  to  the 
needs  of  his  race.  He  has  proved  that  he  was  worth 
saving,  even  though  he  was  a  member  of  the  chain 
gang. 


88  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 

The:  Lesson  Prayer 

We  thank  thee,  God  our  Father,  for  the  spirit  of  uni¬ 
versal  brotherhood  which  has  come  to  the  world  through 
the  example  and  the  teaching  of  Jesus.  We  pray  that 
the  people  of  our  land  may  solve  in  the  right  way  all 
questions  growing  out  of  the  relationships  of  races  to 
one  another.  We  know  that  they  can  be  solved  in  the 
right  way  if  we  follow  the  teachings  of  thy  Son  and  have 
a  large  measure  of  his  spirit.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“God  Bless  Our  Native  Land.”  “Studies  of  Familiar 
Hymns,”  page  179. 

EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

CHRISTIANITY  AND  THE  RACE  PROBLEM  IN 

AMERICA 

John  4:1-42 

Our  Scripture  lesson  is  a  good  illustration  of  the  atti¬ 
tude  of  Jesus  toward  the  outstanding  race  problem  of 
his  day.  The  hatred  between  Jews  and  Samaritans  was 
extremely  bitter.  It  had  been  growing  for  hundreds  of 
years.  It  was  due  not  only  to  differences  in  racial  an¬ 
cestry,  but  to  differences  on  matters  of  religion  and  to 
national  jealousies.  Most  Jews  would  not  set  foot  on 
the  soil  of  Samaria  if  they  could  avoid  it.  The  Jews  of 
Galilee  used  to  cross  the  Jordan  River  just  below  the  Sea 
of  Galilee,  pass  down  the  eastern  side  of  that  river,  cross 
it  again  in  the  neighborhood  of  Jericho,  and  then  climb 
the  long  hill  up  to  Jerusalem  rather  than  go  directly  from 
Galilee  through  Samaria  to  Jerusalem.  Having  attended 
the  festival  in  Jerusalem,  they  would  return  to  their 
homes  by  the  same  circuitous  route.  Jesus,  of  course, 
would  make  no  such  concession  to  race  hatred.  “He  must 
needs  pass  through  Samaria.”  The  language  indicates 
that  he  insisted  on  a  direct  route  from  Jerusalem,  through 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  89 


Samaria,  to  Galilee,  and  that  the  disciples  expressed 
some  objection  to  the  route  proposed. 

In  asking  the  Samaritan  woman  for  a  drink  of  water, 
Jesus  again  disregarded  the  false  etiquette  of  his  day. 
No  Jewish  rabbi  would  have  thought  of  doing  such  a 
thing.  Later,  Jesus  spent  two  days  in  the  village  of 
Sychar,  living  among  the  Samaritans  and  teaching  them. 
In  doing  this  Jesus  showed  no  disloyalty  to  his  own 
nation  and  the  race  with  which  he  was  so  closely  related. 
He  knew  that  the  Jews  had  a  larger  measure  of  the  truth 
than  had  the  Samaritans.  He  told  the  woman  by  the 
well  that  the  Jews  knew  what  they  worshiped,  whereas 
the  Samaritans  did  not  know  what  they  worshiped,  and 
that  “salvation  is  from  the  Jews.”  But  a  sense  of  the 
superiorities  of  the  Jews  over  the  Samaritans  did  not 
lead  Jesus  to  despise  these  less  fortunate  members  of 
God’s  great  family. 

In  our  own  country  we  have  the  problems  involved 
in  the  relationships  which  exist  and  which  ought  to 
exist  between  the  white  people  of  our  country  and  the 
Negroes  and  between  the  white  people  and  the  Oriental 
races.  What  should  be  the  attitude  of  white  Christians 
toward  people  of  the  black  race  and  toward  people  of  the 
yellow  race?  The  lesson  which  we  have  chosen  from  the 
life  of  Jesus  ought  to  help  us  to  solve  the  question. 

SoMK  Truths  from  thf  Lfssons  Wf  Have  Bfkn 

Studying 

Andrew  must  have  lost  all  race  prejudice  out  of  his 
life  when  he  became  a  missionary  to  barbarian  peoples. 

Philip  may  have  thought  that  Jesus  would  not  care  to 
talk  with  Greeks  because  they  were  of  a  foreign  race, 
but  Andrew  understood  his  Teacher  too  well  to  have 
any  such  idea. 

Great  missionaries  like  John  G.  Paton  have  been  free 
from  all  race  prejudice.  They  have  recognized  that  even 
cannibals  are  worth  saving  in  the  sight  of  God. 

The  woman  who  recognized  that  even  a  Negro  con¬ 
vict  lad  was  precious  in  the  sight  of  God  must  have  had 

a  large  measure  of  the  mind  of  Christ. 

« 


90  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Rijvi^w  Questions 

1.  How  did  the  brothers,  Peter  and  Andrew  differ 
from  one  another? 

2.  What  facts  show  that  they  were  companionable? 

3.  Show  that  Andrew  was  friendly  and  helpful  to  the 
other  disciples. 

4.  How  far  can  we  trace  Andrew  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  narratives? 

5.  What  traditions  concerning  him  have  come  down 

BibivE  Verses 

Gen.  1:26,  27;  3:20;  Jer.  38:7-13;  Mark  16:15;  Luke 
10:33,  34;  17:11-19;  Acts  10:34;  15:6-11;  17:26;  Col. 

Study  Topics 

♦  1.  The  Original  Home  of  the  Black  Race.  (A  descrip¬ 
tion  of  the  conditions  existing  among  African  tribes.) 

2.  How  the  Negroes  Came  to  America. 

3.  Progress  Among  Negroes  Since  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation. 

4.  Work  of  the  Board  of  Missions  for  Freedmen  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  (Write  for  information  to 
their  headquarters,  Bessemer  Building,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.) 

5.  Booker  T.  Washington  and  His  Life  Work.  (See 
“Up  from  Slavery,”  by  Booker  T.  Washington.) 

6.  Paul  Lawrence  Dunbar,  the  Negro  Poet.  (See 
any  good  Dictionary  of  Biography.) 

7.  Negro  Songs  Which  Have  Become  Famous. 

8.  Conditions  Among  Colored  People  in  Our  Town 
(State  or  Nation). 

9.  Liberia,  a  Negro  Republic.  (Its  location,  history, 
et  cetera.  See  encyclopedia.) 

10.  What  the  White  Race  Can  Do  to  Help  the  Black 
Race  and  the  Yellow  Race  in  America. 

Putting  the  Truths  oe  the  Lesson  Into  Practice 

Let  the  class  try  to  find  some  helpful  service  which  it 
can  do  for  people  of  another  race.  Homes  for  colored 
children  or  for  Chinese  children  may  be  visited  if  they 
are  located  near  enough.  Articles  for  use  in  such  homes, 
or  contributions  toward  their  support,  may  be  made  by 
members  of  the  class. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

MATTHEW,  A  PUBLICAN  WHO  BECAME  AN 

APOSTLE 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

A  MAN  WHO  HAD  SOLD  HIMSELF  FOR  GAIN 
Matt.  9:9-13;  Luke  5:27-39 

During  the  life  of  Jesus  on  earth  the  Romans  were 
rulers  of  Palestine.  As  was  their  custom,  the  Romans 
imposed  heavy  taxes  on  the  land  of  the  Jews.  They  let 
out  by  contract  the  collecting  of  these  taxes ;  that  is, 
some  man  would  pay  the  Romans  a  sum  of  money  for 
the  privilege  of  collecting  taxes  in  a  certain  district. 
Then  he  collected  enough  to  pay  the  Romans  and  as 
much  more  as  he  could  extort  from  the  people.  The 
officers  who  collected  the  taxes  were  called  publicans. 
They  were  hated  and  despised  by  the  Jews  both  because 
they  represented  .  the  Roman  power  Avhich  had  taken 
away  their  liberty  and  because  of  their  cruel  extortion. 
Especially  did  the  Jews  despise  one  of  their  own  nation 
if,  for  greed  of  gain,  he  became  a  collector  of  taxes. 

Jesus  Calls  a  Publican  to  Be  a  Disciple.  Matt.  9:9-13. 
In  Capernaum  a  certain  Jew  named  Levi  had  become 
a  taxgatherer.  In  all  probability  he  had  taken  up  this 
task  because  of  the  large  profits  which  he  foresaw  could 
be  gained  in  that  way.  He  was  willing  to  make  himself 
rich  put  of  the  misfortunes  of  his  fellow  countrymen 
and  the  degradation  of  his  nation.  Perhaps  Levi  had 
said  to  himself :  ‘Hn  a  time  like  this,  every  man  must 
look  out  for  his  own  interests.  I  must  first  of  all  save 
myself.  I  must  live,  even  if  I  have  to  serve  the  Romans 
and  force  the  people  to  pay  more  taxes  than  is  just.” 
And  so  Levi  had  become  a  publican.  He  sat  at  his  desk 
and  relentlessly  compelled  his  fellow  townsmen  to  pay. 
He  became  accustomed  to  the  glances  of  hatred  and  dis¬ 
dain  which  were  cast  at  him  and  the  half-uttered  curses 
of  those  he  robbed  of  their  hard-earned  wages.  He  could 


91 


92  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


not  go  to  the  synagogue  for  they  had  excommunicated 
him,  but  he  did  not  care.  He  was  growing  rich,  and  he 
could  depend  upon  the  Romans  to  protect  him  from 
personal  violence.  Levi  was  just  like  thousands  of 
others  in  that  day.  Self-interest  had  come  to  be  the 
ruling  passion  of  his  life. 

But  there  came  a  year  when  a  new  spirit  began  to 
creep  over  the  souls  of  men.  Little  groups  of  people  on 
the  street  corners  of  Capernaum  were  gathered  together 
to  talk  not  of  the  usual  topics  of  conversation  but  of  a 
wonderful  prophet  who  had  appeared  and  who  was 
preaching  out  in  the  wilderness  and  drawing  vast  multi¬ 
tudes  to  hear  his  message.  The  ringing  challenge  of  this 
new  prophet  was  summed  up  in  the  words,  “Repent  ye; 
for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.”  That  challenge 
stirred  the  hearts  of  thousands.  It  touched  even  the 
souls  of  the  publicans.  Those  taxgatherers  came  to  John 
saying  humbly,  “What  shall  we  do?”  It  may  be  that 
Levi  was  one  of  the  publicans  who  responded  to  John’s 
preaching. 

It  was  not  long  after  this  that  Jesus  began  to  preach. 
He  soon  came  to  Capernaum.  He  preached  there  in  the 
synagogue  and  out  by  the  shore  of  the  lake.  He  healed 
many  and  cast  out  demons.  Levi,  without  doubt,  heard 
Jesus,  and  became  dissatisfied  with  his  own  way  of  life. 
One  day  Jesus  was  going  out  of  Capernaum  and  he 
passed  right  by  the  office  where  Levi  was  sitting.  We 
do  not  know  whether  Jesus  had  known  Levi  before  and 
had  learned  of  his  longing  for  a  better  way  of  life,  or 
whether  he  read  the  story  of  that  longing  in  the  face  of 
the  taxgatherer  as  he  sat  at  his  desk.  At  all  events, 
Jesus  said  to  him,  “Follow  me.”  Levi  arose  and  followed 
Jesus,  and  from  that  moment  he  was  a  disciple.  Levi 
is  commonly  called  Matthew  in  the  Gospel  narratives. 
Jesus  may  have  given  him  a  new  name  as  he  did  Peter. 

Matthew’s  Feast,  Luke  5  :27-29.  Soon  after  becoming 
a  follower  of  Jesus,  Matthew  gave  a  great  feast  in  his 
house.  It  was  a  farewell  party  to  his  friends  and  a  cele¬ 
bration  of  his  call  to  be  a  disciple.  Many  of  those  whom 
he  invited  v/ere  publicans.  Of  course,  no  Pharisee  would 
have  gone  to  such  a  feast.  He  would  not  think  of  even 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  93 


entering  the  house  of  a  publican.  Jesus  was  invited  and 
he  went,  for  Jesus  was  entirely  free  from  that  prejudice 
against  the  taxgatherers  which  was  so  common  among 
the  Jews.  He  deplored  the  abuses  of  the  tax  system, 
but  he  knew  that  matters  could  never  be  made  right  by 
petty  spite  work  and  social  ostracisms. 

The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  Find  Fault.  Luke  5  :30-39. 
Although  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  would  not  go  to 
Matthew’s  feast,  they  were  not  far  away.  They  were 
watching  all  that  was  going  on.  At  the  first  opportunity 
they  came  to  the  disciples  of  Jesus  saying,  ‘‘Why  do  ye 
eat  and  drink  with  the  publicans  and  sinners?”  Jesus 
answered  for  his  disciples  and  his  answer  was :  “They 
that  are  in  health  have  no  need  of  a  physician ;  but  they 
that  are  sick.  I  am  not  come  to  call  the  righteous  but 
sinners  to  repentance.” 

This  answer  of  Jesus  was  so  complete  an  exposure 
of  the  false  standards  of  the  Pharisees  that  they  shifted 
their  attack  to  other  grounds.  They  said  to  Jesus,  “The 
disciples  of  John  fast  often,  and  make  supplications; 
likewise  also  the  disciples  of  the  Pharisees;  but  thine 
eat  and  drink.”  Jesus  told  them  that  he  and  his  little  party 
were  so  happy  together  that  they  were  like  a  bridal 
company  all  the  time.  It  was  not  a  time  for  fasting  just 
then.  But  he  added  the  statement  that  the  time  was 
coming  when  the  Bridegroom  would  be  taken  away  and 
that  then  his  disciples  would  fast. 

A  Case  of  Conversion.  We  have  in  the  case  of  Mat¬ 
thew  an  illustration  of  genuine  conversion.  He  gave  up 
his  profitable  employment,  left  his  home,  and  became 
a  follower  of  Jesus.  As  a  publican,  he  had  cared  more 
for  money  than  he  did  for  his  fellow  countrymen.  As  a 
disciple,  his  great  ambition  was  to  persuade  his  fellow 
countrymen  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah  foretold  by  the 
prophets.  From  an  apostate  Israelite  he  was  changed 
into  a  Christian,  through  his  faith  in  Jesus  and  the 
influence  of  Jesus  over  his  life. 

Workfellow  with  Thomas.  Matt.  10:1-15.  In  the  list 
of  the  disciples  which  accompanies  the  account  of  the 
missionary  journey  on  which  Jesus  sent  the  apostles, 
the  name  of  Matthew  is  paired  with  that  of  Thomas. 


94  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Jesus  may  have  put  the  two  together  because  they  were 
very  unlike  in  some  respects  and  therefore  able  to  help 
one  another.  Thomas  is  considered  to  have  been  a  man 
slow  of  belief,  but  his  lack  of  faith  seems  to  have  been 
due  to  a  natural  tendency  toward  melancholia.  He 
was  in  the  habit  of  looking  on  the  dark  side.  He  was 
always  expecting  the  worst  to  happen  and  found  it  hard 
to  believe  good  news  because  it  seemed  too  good  to  be 
true.  On  the  other  hand,  Matthew  was  apparently  a 
man  of  cheerful  disposition  and  ready  faith.  We  see 
these  qualities  in  his  prompt  and  cheerful  response  to 
the  call  of  Jesus  to  become  a  disciple.  We  see  it  in  his 
act  of  preparing  a  great  feast  for  his  friends  and  for 
Jesus. 

The  Indians  Who  Sought  the  White  Man’s  Book  oe 

Heaven 

Just  west  of  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains  lies  a  vast 
table-land  intersected  by  the  deep  canyons  of  several 
large  rivers.  This  country  is  the  ancestral  home  of  the 
Nez  Perce  Indians.  Through  this  region  Lewis  and 
Clark  made  their  way  down  the  Clearwater  River  to  the 
Snake  River  and  thence  by  way  of  the  Columbia  River 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  From  these  explorers  and  from 
wandering  trappers  the  Nez  Perces  learned  that  the  white 
men  had  a  book  which  told  about  a  future  life.  They 
called  it  “the  white  man’s  Book  of  Heaven”  and  it  be¬ 
came  the  desire  of  the  whole  tribe  to  get  possession  of 
a  copy  of  this  book.  They  talked  with  the  traders  about 
it,  but  could  get  little  information  from  them. 

At  last  a  council  of  the  tribe  was  called  and  it  was 
determined  that  they  should  send  some  of  their  people 
on  a  search  for  the  book.  Four  men  left  their  homes 
at  Kamiah  on  the  Clearwater  River,  ascended  the  west¬ 
ern  slopes  of  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains,  and  crossing 
that  range  reached  the  headwaters  of  the  Missouri  River. 
Descending  that  river,  after  a  two-thousand-mile  jour¬ 
ney  they  at  last  reached  St.  Louis.  Here  they  were 
recognized  by  an  old  trapper  who  told  the  officers  of  the 
fort  that  these  Indians  were  Nez  Perces  from  the  upper 
Columbia  River  regions.  It  happened  that  the  com- 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  95 

manding  general  at  the  fort  was  the  Captain  Clark  who 
had  been  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  expedition  which 
passed  through  the  country  of  the  Nez  Perces  on  its  way 
to  the  Pacific. 

Captain  Clark  received  the  Indians  kindly  and  enter¬ 
tained  them  for  a  number  of  weeks,  but  he  could  not 
help  them  in  their  quest.  The  Indians  were  saddened 
to  know  that  there  was  no  book  of  heaven  in  any  lan¬ 
guage  that  they  could  understand.  During  their  stay 
in  St.  Louis  two  of  the  Indians  died.  In  the  spring  the 
two  survivors  prepared  to  begin  their  long  homeward 
journey.  A  banquet  was  given  the  two  Indians  just 
before  they  started  home.  In  answer  to  the  farewell 
greetings  of  their  white  friends,  one  of  the  Indians  arose 
and  said :  ‘T  came  to  you  over  the  trail  of  many  moons. 
.  .  .  .You  were  the  friends  of  my  fathers,  who  have  all 
gone  the  long  way.  I  came  with  an  eye  partly  open  for 
my  people  who  sit  in  darkness.  I  go  back  with  both 
eyes  closed.  How  can  I  go  back  blind  to  my  blind 
people?  I  made  my  way  to  you  with  strong  arms 
through  many  enemies  and  strange  lands  that  I  might 
carry  back  much  to  them.  I  go  back  with  both  arms 
broken  and  empty !  Two  fathers  came  with  us ;  they 
were  the  braves  of  many  snows  and  wars.  We  leave 
them  asleep  here  by  your  great  waters  and  tepees.  They 
were  tired  by  many  moons,  and  their  moccasins  wore  out. 

“My  people  sent  me  to  get  the  white  man’s  Book  of 
Heaven.  ...  I  am  going  back  the  long  trail  to  my  people 
in  the  dark  land.  You  make  my  feet  heavy  with  gifts, 
and  my  moccasins  will  grow  old  in  carrying  them,  and 
yet  the  Book  is  not  among  them  !  When  I  tell  my  poor 
blind  people,  after  one  more  snow,  in  the  big  council, 
that  I  did  not  bring  the  Book,  no  word  will  be  spoken 
by  our  old  men  or  by  our  young  braves.  One  by  one 
they  will  rise  up  and  go  out  in  silence.  My  people  will 
die  in  darkness,  and  they  will  go  on  a  long  path  to  other 
hunting  grounds.  No  white  man  will  go  with  them, 
and  no  white  man’s  Book  to  make  the  way  plain.  I  have 
no  more  words.” 


96  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS  WHICH  MATTHEW  WROTE 

Matt,  ch.  25 

We  can  trace  Matthew  through  the  New  Testament 
accounts  as  far  as  we  have  traced  Andrew  in  a  previous 
lesson,  but  no  further.  Traditions  concerning  him  are 
not  so  abundant  as  in  the  case  of  some  of  the  other 
disciples.  He  is  said  to  have  preached  to  the  Jews  and 
from  the  nature  of  his  writings  this  is  not  improbable. 
Matthew  was  a  man  of  considerable  education.  His 
employment  as  a  taxgatherer  would  indicate  this,  for  in 
that  occupation  he  would  have  to  keep  accounts  accu¬ 
rately,  make  extensive  reports,  and  do  considerable  work 
of  a  literary  nature.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to 
find  that  he  became  one  of  the  authors  of  the  New 
Testament. 

In  the  Gospel  narratives,  Matthew  is  not  often  men¬ 
tioned.  He  was  evidently  not  a  disciple  who  took  a 
leading  part,  like  Peter  or  John.  But  in  writing  the 
account  of  the  life  of  Jesus  which  has  become  a  part  of 
the  New  Testament,  Matthew  accomplished  a  task  sec¬ 
ond  to  none  in  importance. 

For  Whom  the  Book  Was  Written.  It  is  quite  evident 
that  Matthew  wrote  this  brief  account  of  the  life  and 
the  teachings  of  Jesus  primarily  for  his  own  countrymen. 
The  Gospel  of  Matthew  is  especially  marked  by  quota¬ 
tions  from  the  Old  Testament.  This  probably  means 
that  in  his  education  Matthew  had  mastered  much  of 
the  Old  Testament  literature.  It  is  probably  due,  also, 
in  a  measure,  to  the  aim  which  Matthew  had  in  view  as 
he  wrote.  His  great  objective  was  to  persuade  his  fel¬ 
low  countrymen,  the  Jews,  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah. 
While  Matthew  had  his  fellow  countrymen  especially 
in  mind,  under  God’s  providence  he  was  writing  for  all 
mankind,  because  the  greatest  need  of  all  humanity  is 
just  the  same  as  the  need  of  the  Jewish  people  of  whom 
Matthew  was  thinking.  All  must  come  to  know  Jesus 
and  to  accept  him  as  the  Son  of  God,  the  Messiah  who 
is  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

Matthew’s  Account  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  97 


Matt.,  chs.  5  to  7.  Our  knowledge  of  the  life  and  teach¬ 
ings  of  Jesus  would  be  much  less  perfect  than  it  is,  if  Mat¬ 
thew  had  not  written  his  Gospel.  Take  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount  as  an  illustration.  Luke  gives  us  fragments  of 
this  great  address,  and  there  are  a  few  suggestions  of  it 
in  other  parts  of  the  Gospels,  but  Matthew  gives  us  an 
orderly  summary  of  this  great  discourse.  It  may  be  that 
Matthew  wrote  down  portions  of  Jesus’  address  at  the 
time  it  was  delivered,  or  soon  after,  and  thus  preserved 
for  all  the  future  generations  these  priceless  spiritual 
truths  which  the  sermon  of  Jesus  expresses  so  perfectly. 

Matthew’s  Account  of  the  Infancy  of  Jesus.  Matt., 
ch.  2.  The  whole  of  the  second  chapter  of  Matthew  is 
information  not  contained  elsewhere  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment.  If  Matthew  had  not  written  his  life  of  Jesus, 
w^  should  have  known  nothing  of  the  visit  of  the  Wise 
Men,  the  flight  into  Egypt,  the  destruction  of  the  infants 
of  Bethlehem  by  Herod,  and  the  circumstances  under 
which  Joseph  and  Mary  became  again  residents  at 
Nazareth. 

Parables  of  Jesus  Mentioned  Only  by  Matthew.  The 

twenty-fifth  chapter  of  Matthew  contains  three  parables 
which  are  beautiful,  considered  as  gems  of  literature,  and 
sublime  in  their  spiritual  teaching.  They  are  the  Parable  of 
the  Ten  Virgins,  the  Parable  of  the  Talents,  and  the  Par¬ 
able  of  the  Last  Judgment.  There  are  eight  other  parables 
of  Jesus  which  are  found  only  in  Matthew.  These  are  as 
follows:  The  Parables  of  the  Tares,  the  Hidden  Treas¬ 
ure,  the  Pearl  of  Great  Price,  the  Dragnet,  the  Unmer¬ 
ciful  Servant,  the  Laborers  in  the  Vineyard,  the  Father 
and  Two  Sons,  and  the  Marriage  of  the  King’s  Son. 

Miracles  of  Jesus  Mentioned  Only  by  Matthew.  Three 
of  the  miracles  of  Jesus  recorded  in  the  New  Testament 
are  found  only  in  the  Gospel  of  Matthew.  They  are  the 
account  of  the  healing  of  two  blind  men.  Matt.  9:27-31; 
the  casting  out  of  a  dumb  spirit.  Matt.  9:32,  33;  and  the 
finding  of  the  shekel  in  the  fish’s  mouth,  Matt.  17 :24-27. 

Matthew’s  Contribution  to  Our  Knowledge  of  the 
Life  and  Teachings  of  Jesus.  The  portions  of  Mat¬ 
thew’s  Gospel  listed  in  the  previous  paragraphs  give 
some  conception  of  the  large  contribution  which  Mat- 


'98  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


thew  has  made  to  our  knowledge  of  the  life  and  teach¬ 
ings  of  Jesus.  This  will  not  give  us  a  complete  under¬ 
standing  of  the  matter,  however.  Many  of  the  incidents 
of  the  life  of  Jesus  are  mentioned  by  several  of  the 
Gospel  writers,  yet  the  accounts  are  not  exactly  the  same. 
For  instance,  all  the  Gospel  narratives  tell  of  the 
burial  of  Jesus,  but  Matthew  alone  tells  of  the  coming 
of  the  Pharisees  to  Pilate  to  ask  that  a  guard  be  set  at 
the  door  of  the  sepulcher.  Matthew  alone  tells  us  that 
the  stone  was  sealed.  He  alone  tells  us  of  the  bribing 
of  the  guard  by  the  Pharisees,  so  that  they  reported  that 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  came  by  night  and  stole  away  the 
body  while  they  were  asleep.  Thus  all  the  way  through 
the  Gospel  of  Matthew  we  might  point  out  interesting 
items  of  information  which  he  alone  has  given. 

What  the:  Whitk  Man’s  Book  ot  He:ave;n  Has  Done 
FOR  THE  Nez  Perce  Indians 

The  story  of  the  four  Nez  Perce  Indians  who  journeyed 
to  St.  Louis  on  foot  to  find  the  white  man’s  Book  of 
Heaven  led  to  the  sending  of  the  first  missionaries  to 
the  far  Northwest  of  our  country.  In  answer  to  the 
call  for  volunteers  who  would  undertake  the  task  of 
bringing  the  white  man’s  Book  of  Heaven  to  the  Nez 
Perce  and  other  Indian  tribes,  men  like  Marcus  Whit¬ 
man,  Jason  Lee,  and  Henry  H.  Spalding  offered  them¬ 
selves.  Marcus  Whitman  became  a  missionary  to  the 
Cayuse  Indians  in  what  is  now  the  eastern  part  of 
the  State  of  Washington.  The  story  of  how  he  took  the 
first  wagon  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  afterward 
saved  the  Oregon  country  for  the  United  States,  by  mak¬ 
ing  a  trip  from  his  mission  station  to  Washington,  D.  C., 
in  the  dead  of  winter,  is  one  of  the  heroic  tales  of  mis¬ 
sionary  adventure  in  America.  Jason  Lee  built  a  mis¬ 
sion  station  in  the  Willamette  Valley  and  organized 
there  the  first  Protestant  church  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
Henry  H.  Spalding  was  given  the  task  of  taking  the 
white  man’s  Book  of  Heaven  to  the  Nez  Perces.  He 
built  a  mission  at  Lapwai  where  he  gathered  the  children 
into  a  school  and  began  his  labors  among  the  adult 
Indians. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  99 


When  the  Cayuse  War  broke  out,  both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Whitman  perished,  and  Mr.  Spalding  and  his  family 
had  to  flee  from  their  station  among  the  Nez  Perces. 
But  after  the  war,  the  work  was  resumed.  A  faithful 
,  young  woman  named  Sue  McBeth  came  to  be  Mr.  Spal¬ 
ding’s  helper.  Later  her  sister  Kate  joined  the  mission 
force.  These  two  sisters  became  the  spiritual  guides  to 
the  whole  Nez  Perce  tribe.  They  found  that  the  lan¬ 
guage  was  surprisingly  extensive,  but  they  labored  dili¬ 
gently  to  master  its  vocabulary  and  its  grammar.  Their 
ambition  was  to  give  to  the  Nez  Perces  that  which  they 
had  so  long  desired,  namely,  the  Bible  in  their  own  lan¬ 
guage.  At  last  the  task  was  complete,  or  so  nearly 
complete  that  the  manuscript  was  to  be  sent  east  for 
publication.  The  manuscript  of  the  McBeth  sisters  was 
placed  on  a  little  river  steamboat  and  started  down  the 
Snake  River.  To  their  great  grief  the  sisters  heard  in 
a  few  days  that  the  little  boat  had  met  with  disaster. 
Its  boiler  had  exploded  and  it  had  sunk  in  the  river,  the 
passengers  barely  escaping  with  their  lives  and  the  cargo 
going  to  the  bottom  of  the  river  with  the  disabled  craft. 
The  manuscript  which  they  had  sent  on  the  boat  was 
the  only  complete  copy  they  had.  Years  of  labor  were 
evidently  gone  for  nothing.  Could  they  begin  all  over 
again  and  produce  once  more  the  translation  of  the  Bible 
into  the  Nez  Perce  tongue?  They  feared  that  life  would 
not  be  long  enough  for  again  completing  the  task. 

That  night  they  were  overjoyed  when  a  rough  man  of 
the  frontier  came  to  the  mission  and  handed  them  the 
precious  manuscript.  It  was  somewhat  damp  and  dis¬ 
colored  by  water  stains,  but  perfectly  legible.  The  man 
said  he  had  fished  it  out  of  the  Snake  River  some  miles 
below  where  the  steamboat  sank.^ 

The  Bible  was  then  published  in  the  language  of  the 
Nez  Perce  Indians.  At  last  they  had  the  long-desired 
white  man’s  Book  of  Heaven.  And  it  has  proved  a  won¬ 
derful  blessing  to  the  tribe.  Their  reservation  is  now 
dotted  over  with  schoolhouses  and  churches.  They  have 
many  native  preachers  who  not  only  instruct  the  people 
of  the  tribe,  but  also,  every  year,  bear  the  gospel  mes- 

1  From  “Winning  the  Oregon  Country,”  by  John  T.  Faris,  D.D. 


100  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 

sage  to  other  tribes  of  the  Northwest.  Every  year  they 
have  a  wonderful  camp  meeting  where  practically  all  the 
Nez  Perce  people  gather  for  worship  and  Bible  study. 
They  have  found  in  the  white  man’s  Book  of  Heaven 
the  way  of  purity,  service,  and  joy. 

The:  Le:sson  Praye:r 

Teach  us,  our  Father  in  heaven,  rightly  to  value  the 
Book  which  thou  hast  given  us  to  guide  us  to  thee.  Help 
us  to  follow  its  teachings.  Make  us  willing  and  anxious 
to  send  it  to  all  the  peoples  of  the  earth.  Bless  the  work 
of  the  Christian  churches  among  the  American  Indians. 
We  pray  that  they  may  all  be  won  for  the  religion  which 
Jesus  taught  and  lived.  We  ask  in  the  name  of  thy  Son. 
Amen. 

The:  Le:sson  Hymn 

“My  Country,  ’Tis  of  Thee.”  “Studies  of  Familiar 
Hymns,”  page  97. 

EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

MISSION  WORK  AMONG  THE  AMERICAN  INDIANS 

Eph.  2:11-22 

In  writing  to  people  who  had  not  very  long  before 
been  converted  from  paganism  to  Christianity — Paul 
reminds  them  that  they  had  been  far  off  but  are  now 
“made  nigh  in  the  blood  of  Christ.”  It  is  a  good  thing 
for  the  American  people  to  remember  the  same  thing 
in  their  dealings  with  the  American  Indians.  It  is  not 
so  very  long  ago  that  our  ancestors  were  just  as  much 
pagans  and  barbarians  as  the  wildest  and  rudest  of  the 
American  Indians.  They  changed  from  that  condition 
because  heroic  missionaries  risked  their  lives  to  go 
among  them  and  teach  them  the  Christian  religion.  In 
passing  the  gospel  message  on  to  the  backward  races  of 
the  world,  we  are  only  repeating  the  “good  turn”  which 
was  done  to  our  ancestors. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  101 


Some  Truths  erom  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

Selfishness  made  Matthew  a  publican  and  a  hindrance 
to  God’s  Kingdom.  From  Jesus,  Matthew  learned  the 
lesson  of  unselfish  service  and  thus  became  missionary  to 
his  fellow  countrymen. 

Jesus  would  not  allow  false  social  standards  to  hinder 
his  helpfulness.  He  came  to  minister  to  all  who  were  in 
need  of  the  great  Physician. 

The  company  of  Jesus’  disciples  was  strengthened  be¬ 
cause  Jesus  chose  as  his  disciples  men  of  widely  differ¬ 
ent  characteristics.  The  same  rule  applies  to  nations. 
The  American  Indians,  if  they  are  absorbed  into  the 
citizenship  of  our  nation,  will  add  something  to  our 
national  character  which  will  be  of  much  value. 

The  Nez  Perce  Indians  were  right  in  thinking  that 
the  white  man’s  Book  of  Heaven  was  worth  a  long  and 
dangerous  journey.  No  other  book  in  the  world  could 
have  done  for  them  what  the  Bible  has  done. 

Other  Indian  tribes  besides  the  Nez  Perces  have  been 
transformed  by  the  introduction  of  the  Bible  among 
them.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  report  of 
Dr.  Marquis,  General  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  for  the  year  1921 : 

“On  December  twenty-third,  at  Sacaton,  Arizona,  there 
was  celebrated  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  first  com¬ 
ing  of  Dr.  Charles  H.  Cook  as  a  pioneer  missionary  to 
the  Pima  Indians.  In  fifty  years  this  tribe  has  been 
lifted  from  a  state  of  primitive  paganism  to  a  fine,  well- 
developed,  Christian  community  life.  There  are  now  in 
this  reservation  twelve  organized  Presbyterian  churches, 
with  over  two  thousand  members.” 

The  courage  of  the  Nez  Perce  Indians  in  undertaking 
the  journey  to  St.  Louis  is  characteristic  of  the  Indian. 
Nine  thousand  Indian  youths  were  soldiers  in  the  World 
War.  Six  thousand  of  that  number  were  volunteers. 

Review  Questions 

1.  Give  two  reasons  why  the  publicans  were  hated 
by  the  Jews. 


102  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


2.  Give  some  reasons  why  Jesus  called  Matthew  to 
be  a  disciple. 

3.  Why  was  Jesus’  way  of  dealing  with  publicans 
better  than  the  way  of  the  Pharisees? 

4.  What  changes  are  seen  in  Matthew’s  life  after  he 
became  a  disciple? 

5.  Tell  the  story  of  the  Indians’  journey  to  find  the 
Bible. 

6.  Give  some  evidences  that  Matthew  wrote  his 
Gospel  especially  for  Jews. 

7.  Name  some  events  in  the  life  of  Jesus  mentioned 
by  Matthew  only. 

8.  What  parables  are  mentioned  only  by  Matthew? 

9.  What  miracles  of  Jesus  are  described  by  Matthew 
only? 

10.  How  was  the  Bible  finall}^  made  available  for  the 
Nez  Perces? 


BibIvE  Vkrses 

Josh.  1:8;  II  Kings  22:8-13;  Neh.  8:8;  Ps.  72:11,  12; 
Isa.  11 :9;  Acts  1 :8;  Rom.  1 :16. 


Study  Topics 

1.  The  Work  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  Doing  for 
the  Indians.  (Write  for  information  to  Board  of  Home 
Missions,  156  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York  City.) 

2.  Is  the  Indian  Race  Destined  to  Extinction?  (See 
Government  reports  for  years  1870,  1880,  1890,  and  1900.) 

3.  Why  We  Are  Under  Obligation  to  Christianize 
the  Indians. 

4.  Admirable  Traits  of  Indian  Character. 

5.  John  Eliot,  an  Early  Missionary  to  the  Indians. 
(See  Dictionary  of  Biography.) 

6.  The  Religious  Beliefs  of  the  Indians  Before  the 
Coming  of  the  White  Race  to  America. 

7.  What  Christianity  Can  Do  for  the  Indians.  (Illus¬ 
trate  by  the  story  of  the  Nez  Perces,  Pimas,  and  other 
tribes.) 

8.  Has  Our  Nation  Treated  the  Indians  Justly? 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  103 


9.  The  Story  of  Ramona.  (A  brief  review  of  Helen 
Hunt  Jackson’s  book.) 

10.  What  Can  Our  Class  Do  to  Help  Christianize  the 
Indians  ? 

Putting  the  Truths  of  Lesson  Into  Practice 

Some  weeks  before  this  lesson  is  taken  up,  let  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  class  write  letters  to  Indian  schools  and  mis¬ 
sions  asking  what  an  Intermediate  class  can  do  to  help 
the  work  along.  Let  these  letters  be  read  in  this  meet¬ 
ing  and  practical  plans  discussed  for  the  helping  of  such 
schools  and  missions. 


CHAPTER  IX 


JAMES  THE  APOSTEE  AND  JAMES  THE  LORD’S 

BROTHER 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

THE  FIRST  OF  THE  APOSTLES  TO  DIE  FOR  THE 

FAITH 

Luke  5:1-11;  9:51-56;  Mark  5:35-43;  10:35-45;  Acts 

12:1,  2 

Two  of  the  twelve  disciples  were  named  James.  One 
of  them  is  called  James,  the  son  of  Alphseus.  Since 
Matthew  is  also  called  the  son  of  Alphgeus,  this  James 
may  have  been  the  brother  of  Matthew.  This  hardly 
seems  probable,  however,  as  the  two  are  never  men¬ 
tioned  together  in  the  Gospels.  The  name  Alphgeus  may 
have  been  rather  common  in  those  days.  The  other 
disciple  who  bore  the  name  of  James  was  the  brother 
of  John.  There  was  also  another  James  who  was  the 
brother  of  Jesus.  In  this  chapter  we  are  to  learn  what 
the  New  Testament  teaches  us  about  the  life  and  char¬ 
acter  of  James  the  disciple  and  James  the  Lord’s  brother. 
Our  first  lesson  is  concerned  with  James  the  disciple. 

‘‘Sons  of  Thunder.”  Mark  3:17.  We  have  seen  how 
brotherly  and  helpful  Peter  and  Andrew  were  to  one 
another.  The  same  relationship  of  helpfulness  existed 
between  the  sons  of  Zebedee.  They  are  nearly  always 
mentioned  together  and  seem  to  have  been  much  alike 
in  disposition.  In  this  respect  they  were  unlike  Peter 
and  Andrew  who,  as  we  have  seen,  differed  very  much 
from  each  other. 

In  a  number  of  instances  Jesus  gave  his  disciples  new 
names  as  soon  as  they  became  his  followers.  He  changed 
Simon’s  name  to  Peter.  Perhaps  he  changed  Levi’s 
name  to  Matthew.  Jesus  seems  to  have  done  this  be¬ 
cause  he  recognized  in  the  disciples  to  whom  he  gave 
new  names  certain  desirable  qualities,  or  the  power  to 
develop  certain  desirable  qualities.  The  name  Peter 


104 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  105 


means  a  stone.  Jesus  saw  in  Peter  qualities  as  yet  un¬ 
developed  which  would  in  time  make  him  stand  like  a 
rock  for  that  which  is  righteous  and  true.  Perhaps 
Peter’s  new  name  helped  him  to  develop  the  latent  pos¬ 
sibilities  for  firmness  in  the  right  which  Jesus  saw  in 
him. 

Jesus  called  James  and  John  Boanerges,  which  means 
‘'sons  of  thunder.”  If  we  read  the  Twenty-ninth  Psalm 
and  remember  that  it  is  a  reverent  description  of  a  great 
thunderstorm  sweeping  across  the  mountains  and  plains 
of  Palestine,  we  shall  see  that,  to  the  pious  Hebrew, 
thunder  was  the  “voice  of  Jehovah,”  sounding  forth  in 
majesty.  Is  it  not  probable  that  Jesus  gave  these  two 
disciples  this  name  because  of  the  fact  that  he  saw  in 
them  the  possibilities  of  sublime  character?  How  fully 
John  fulfdls  the  name  when  it  is  considered  in  this  way ! 
His  writings  are  so  sublime  that  the  Early  Church  chose 
as  the  symbol  of  John  the  eagle,  a  bird  which  soars 
sublimely  into  the  very  clouds  of  heaven.  We  may  be 
sure  that  James  possessed  these  same  qualities  of  char¬ 
acter,  for  he  was  in  every  way  like  his  brother. 

Farewell  to  the  Fishing  Business.  Luke  5  :1-11.  Jesus 
did  not  choose  his  twelve  apostles  and  ordain  them  at 
the  very  beginning  of  his  ministry.  There  were  certain 
steps  through  which  these  men  rose  to  the  position  of 
apostleship.  Some  of  them  met  Jesus  at  the  place  where 
John  the  Baptist  was  preaching  and  baptizing.  They 
forthwith  became  disciples  of  Jesus,  but  the  relation  of 
discipleship  was  not  then  what  it  came  to  be  later.  They 
returned  to  their  homes  and  to  their  occupation  as  fisher¬ 
men.  Later  Jesus  saw  them  and  called  them  away  to 
become  his  pupils  in  a  more  definite  way. 

There  were  a  number  of  occasions,  however,  when 
Peter  and  Andrew,  James  and  John  returned  to  the  task 
of  catching  fish.  One  day  when  Jesus  was  preaching 
by  the  Sea  of  Galilee  there  was  such  a  multitude  present 
that  there  was  hardly  standing  room  for  Jesus  and  his 
disciples.  So  Jesus  got  into  Peter’s  boat  and  put  out  a 
short  distance  from  land.  Sitting  down  in  the  boat,  he 
taught  the  people.  When  he  had  finished  speaking  to 
the  multitudes,  Jesus  asked  Peter  to  put  out  into  the 


106  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 

lake  and  let  down  the  nets.  When  they  tried  to  draw 
the  nets  in,  they  found  them  so  full  of  fish  that  the  dis¬ 
ciples  were  amazed.  Jesus  wished  to  give  these  four 
disciples  one  final  lesson  before  they  left  their  familiar 
labor.  He  wished  to  teach  them  that  in  the  new  enter¬ 
prise  to  which  he  had  called  them,  their  success  would 
depend  upon  the  fidelity  with  which  they  trusted  and 
followed  him  as  their  Teacher  and  Leader.  This  wonder¬ 
ful  draft  of  fishes  ended  the  fishing  business  for  the  four 
disciples,  except  that  they  returned  to  it  for  a  brief 
period  after  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Jesus. 

Intimate  Fellowship  with  Jesus.  Mark  5  :35-43.  Peter 
and  James  and  John  made  up  a  kind  of  inner  circle 
among  the  disciples.  There  were  a  number  of  times 
when  Jesus  chose  these  three  to  be  with  him.  They 
were  with  him  on  the  mountain  when  Jesus  talked  with 
Moses  and  Elijah  and  his  appearance  was  changed  in 
that  remarkable  way  which  has  come  to  be  called  the 
transfiguration.  They  were  near  him  in  the  Garden  of 
Gethsemane.  When  Jesus  went  into  the  house  of  Jairus 
to  raise  to  life  the  little  twelve-year  old  girl,  he  suffered 
no  persons  to  go  with  him  save  the  father  and  mother 
of  the  child  and  the  three  disciples  whom  we  have  named. 
These  facts  show  us  that  James  was  a  young  man  of 
importance  in  the  company  of  the  disciples  and  that  his 
relationships  with  Jesus  were  of  the  most  intimate  kind. 

Some  Defects  of  the  Character  of  James.  Mark 
10:35-45;  Luke  9:51-56.  James  had  the  same  defects  of 
character  which  we  have  seen  in  the  life  of  his  brother 
John.  As  a  young  man  he  was  selfishly  ambitious.  He 
thought  Jesus  was  about  to  set  up  a  temporal  kingdom 
and  he  wished  to  become  one  of  the  chief  officials  in  that 
kingdom.  He  had  to  learn,  just  as  the  other  disciples 
did,  that  true  greatness  of  character  is  not  dependent 
upon  the  holding  of  high  official  positions. 

James  also  joined  with  his  brother  in  the  suggestion 
that  fire  be  called  down  from  heaven  to  consume  the 
inhospitable  Samaritans  who  had  refused  shelter  to  Jesus 
and  his  disciples.  Intense  loyalty  to  his  Master  aroused 
fierce  indignation  in  the  heart  of  James.  Later,  James 
learned  other  ways  of  expressing  his  devotion  to  Jesus, 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  107 

ways  that  were  unselfish,  ways  that  did  not  contemplate 
the  destruction  of  the  lives  of  others,  but  the  laying” 
down  of  his  own  life  as  evidence  of  his  loyalty  to  his 
Lord. 

The  ‘‘Last  Full  Measure  of  Devotion.”  Acts  12:1,  2. 
When  the  persecutions  of  the  Christians  began,  an  un¬ 
principled  man  named  Herod  Agrippa  was  ruler  of  a 
large  portion  of  Palestine.  Herod  Agrippa  was  a  crafty 
politician.  He  had  won  the  support  of  the  Roman  em¬ 
peror  by  his  cunning  and  his  flatteries.  He  managed  in 
the  same  way  to  keep  the  support  of  the  more  powerful 
of  the  leaders  and  parties  among  the  Jewish  people. 

When  the  persecutions  against  the  Christians  began, 
Herod  Agrippa  saw  an  opportunity  to  gain  favor  for 
himself  among  the  Jewish  leaders.  It  involved  nothing 
but  the  taking  of  the  lives  of  a  few  Jewish  peasants,  so 
Herod  Agrippa  took  a  hand  in  the  persecutions.  That 
he  selected  James  as  his  first  victim  is  proof  that  James 
was  a  leader  and  one  of  the  most  active  of  the  disciples 
in  preaching  Jesus  and  the  resurrection. 

Herod  had  James  killed  with  a  sword.  He  noted  care¬ 
fully  the  effect  of  this  act  on  the  Jewish  leaders.  When 
he  saw  that  it  pleased  them,  he  seized  Peter  as  another 
of  the  prominent  leaders  of  the  Christians  and  lodged 
him  in  jail,  intending  to  have  Peter  put  to  death,  too. 
He  intended  that  this  execution  should  take  place  just 
after  the  passover  feast,  but  Peter  was  miraculously  de¬ 
livered  and  before  Herod  Agrippa  could  again  lay  hands 
on  his  intended  victim,  he  himself  was  no  longer  among 
the  living.  He  was  smitten  with  a  terrible  malady  and  he 
“gave  up  the  ghost.” 

A  Grain  of  Whfat  Which  Dying  Brought  Forth  an 

Abundant  Harvest 

We  may  wonder  why  God  in  his  providence  allowed 
so  young  and  promising  a  leader  as  James  to  be  removed 
from  the  life  work  which  he  was  beginning.  We  do  not 
have  the  information  at  hand  for  a  full  answer  to  the 
problem.  We  see  only  the  present  life  with  its  problems 
and  tasks  and  know  little  of  the  opportunities  in  the 
life  beyond  where  we  are  told  that  “his  servants  shall 


108  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


serve  him,”  just  as  they  do  here.  Then,  too,  it  may  be 
•  that  James  accomplished  more  for  the  Kingdom  of  God 
by  giving  his  young  life  for  it  than  he  could  have  ac¬ 
complished  by  living  and  laboring  on  to  extreme  old 
age. 

Tom  Hannay,  when  he  was  a  young  lad,  came  from 
Scotland  to  live  in  America.  He  was  fond  of  all  out¬ 
door  sports  and  became  a  champion  tennis  player.  Like 
his  gay  young  companions,  he  lived  for  the  pleasures 
of  the  moment  until  one  night  in  a  great  tabernacle  re¬ 
vival  he  heard  a  sermon  that  seemed  to  lay  hold  on  his 
very  soul.  The  envangelist  was  telling  of  the  joys  of  a 
life  given  over  to  unselfish  service.  He  told  a  story  of  a 
poor  old  Negro  woman  who  had  little  learning  but  great 
love  for  Christ,  and  who  brought  many  of  her  acquaint¬ 
ances  to  know  him.  When  the  call  for  decisions  came, 
Tom  Hannay  had  made  up  his  mind.  He  declared  his 
intention  henceforth  to  follow  Jesus  as  his  teacher. 

It  was  not  long  before  Tom  was  in  Christian  Endeavor 
work.  He  traveled  much,  attending  meetings  and  con¬ 
ventions,  especially  on  the  Pacific  coast.  He  was  a 
favorite  with  the  young  people  wherever  he  went,  and 
thousands  to  this  day  carry  the  helpful  memory  of  his 
heart}^  handshake  and  his  cheerful  words  of  counsel. 

Tom  Hannay  decided  to  become  a  foreign  missionary. 
He  chose  Africa  as  his  field  of  labor  because  it  was  the 
story  of  an  old  Negro  woman  that  first  led  him  to  think 
of  devoting  his  life  to  the  service  of  Christ. 

He  was  in  his  field  of  labor  only  a  few  weeks  when 
the  dreaded  African  fever  struck  him  and  he  laid  down 
the  work  he  had  just  begun.  When  word  reached 
America  that  Tom  Hannay  was  dead  in  Africa,  there 
was  widespread  grief  among  all  who  had  known  him. 
Some  thoughtless  people  wondered  at  what  they  regarded 
as  a  mysterious  providence  of  God.  They  thought  that 
Tom  had  made  a  great  blunder  when  he  left  the  Young 
People’s  work  to  go  to  Africa.  Perhaps,  however,  Tom 
Hannay  made  his  greatest  contribution  to  the  cause  of 
God’s  Kingdom  when  he  faced  the  dangers  of  a  fever- 
stricken  district  of  Africa  and  heroically  met  his  death 
that  he  might  serve  his  King.  Within  a  year  more  than 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  109 


a  score  of  young  people  who  had  known  Tom  had  signed 
their  names  to  pledges  expressing  their  conviction  that 
they  were  called  of  God  to  become  missionaries.  They 
wished  to  help  in  the  task  which  their  friend  had  begun 
but  which  he  had  not  been  privileged  to  carry  very  far. 
Jesus  had  this  truth  in  mind  when  as  a  young  man  of 
thirty-four  he  faced  the  cross  and  said,  “Except  a  grain 
of  wheat  fall  into  the  earth  and  die,  it  abideth  by  itself 
alone;  but  if  it  die,  it  beareth  much  fruit.” 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

JAMES,  A  BROTHER  OF  JESUS  WHO  BECAME  A 
LEADER  OF  THE  EARLY  CHURCH 

Mark  3:20-22;  6:1-6;  John  7:1-9;  Acts  15:1-29 

After  the  birth  of  Jesus  several  other  children  came 
into  the  home  of  Mary  and  Joseph.  Four  of  these  were 
boys  and  their  names  were,  James,  Joseph,  Simon,  and 
Jude.  There  were  at  least  two  daughters  in  the  family, 
so  the  total  number  of  children  was  at  least  seven,  which 
with  Joseph  and  Mary  made  a  family  of  nine.  James 
was  probably  next  to  Jesus  in  age.  In  this  lesson  we 
are  to  learn  what  we  can  of  this  brother  of  Jesus  who 
bore  the  name  of  James. 

The  Family  of  Jesus  Refuse  to  Accept  Him  as  the 
Christ.  John  7:1-9.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  some 
of  the  greatest  men  of  history  have  not  been  appreciated 
at  anything  like  their  true  worth  by  members  of  their 
own  families.  It  was  so  with  Jesus.  It  is  with  a  note 
of  sadness  that  John  records  the  fact,  “For  even  his 
brethren  did  not  believe  on  him.”  The  first  sight  we 
get  of  James  is,  therefore,  the  sight  of  him  as  a  disbe¬ 
liever  in  Jesus.  This  disbelief  of  the  relatives  of  Jesus 
was  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  it  is  hard  for  us  to  ap¬ 
preciate  greatness  of  character  when  it  exists  in  those 
with  whom  v/e  are  perfec-tly  well  acquainted.  It  was 
more  largely  due,  however,  to  the  fact  that  Jesus  did  not 
do  the  things  which  they,  in  common  with  other  Jews, 
expected  the  Messiah  to  do.  There  is  a  note  of  impa¬ 
tience  in  the  admonition  of  the  brothers  of  Jesus:  “De- 


no  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


part  hence,  and  go  into  Judaea,  that  thy  disciples  also 
may  behold  thy  works  which  thou  ddest.  For  no  man 
doeth  anything  in  secret,  and  himself  seeketh  to  be 
known  openly.”  These  brothers  had  no  doubt  as  to 
the  wonderful  power  of  Jesus.  But  they  wished  him 
to  use  his  power  in  such  a  way  as  to  demonstrate  to  the 
world  that  he  was  the  Messiah. 

The  Family  of  Jesus  Seek  to  Place  Him  Under  Re¬ 
straint.  Mark  3  :20-22.  As  time  went  on  the  relatives 
of  Jesus  concluded  that  his  mind  was  unbalanced.  They 
said,  “He  is  beside  himself.”  They  came  to  take  him 
home  that  they  might  keep  him  quiet  and  safe  by  force. 
This,  too,  has  been  a  common  experience  among  the 
greatest  thinkers  of  the  world.  People  called  Professor 
Morse,  the  inventor  of  the  telegraph,  “Old  Crazy  Morse” 
during  all  the  years  when  he  was  working  out  his  great 
invention.  It  is  said  that  when  Columbus  walked  down 
the  streets  of  almost  any  city  where  he  had  become 
known,  in  the  days  when  he  was  planning  his  voyage  to 
the  Indies,  even  little  children  pointed  to  their  foreheads 
and  smiled.  So  we  need  not  be  greatly  surprised  that 
the  family  of  Jesus  and  some  other  people  thought  that 
his  mind  was  unbalanced.  James,  as  the  next  to  the  eld¬ 
est  son  in  the  family,  was  without  doubt  one  of  those  who 
had  most  to  do  with  the  things  we  have  been  discussing. 

The  Family  of  Jesus  Become  Christian  Believers. 
Acts  1 :14;  I  Cor.  15:7.  We  do  not  know  just  when  the 
family  of  Jesus  came  to  believe  in  Jesus  as  God’s  Mes¬ 
siah  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  We  find  that  after 
the  ascension  of  Jesus,  Mary  and  the  brothers  of  Jesus 
are  named  as  a  part  of  the  company  gathered  in  the 
upper  room  at  Jerusalem.  It  may  have  been  the  heroic 
courage  with  which  Jesus  met  the  cross  that  finally  con¬ 
vinced  them.  It  may  have  been  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  that  brought  these  relatives  to  a  saving  faith. 
Paul  tells  us  that  one  of  the  appearances  of  the  risen 
Christ  was  to  James.  It  is  good  to  think  that  Jesus 
came  to  this  brother  of  his  who  had  so  long  battled  with 
doubts  and  talked  with  him  and  helped  him  across  to 
the  firm  ground  of  an  undying  faith  in  the  world’s 
Redeemer. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  111 


James  Rises  to  Eminence  in  the  Church  of  Jerusalem. 

Acts  15:1-29.  Many  years  have  passed  since  the  begin¬ 
nings  of  the  Christian  Church.  It  has  withstood  fiery 
persecutions  and  has  grown  continually.  But  now  a 
more  serious  menace  than  any  persecution  has  arisen. 
The  Church  is  in  danger  of  being  torn  asunder  by  in¬ 
ternal  strife.  Leaders  of  the  Church  have  assembled  at 
Jerusalem  to  consider  the  questions  involved  in  the  con¬ 
troversy  and  to  seek  means  whereby  the  unity  of  the 
Church  may  be  maintained. 

Peter  is  there.  He  is  no  longer  the  stalwart  and  some¬ 
what  uncouth  fisherman.  He  has  grown  old  in  the 
service  of  his  King,  but  in  growing  old  Peter  has  become 
more  like  Christ.  He  pleads  for  a  policy  of  broad  and 
liberal  brotherhood  toward  the  Gentile  Christians.  Paul 
and  Barnabas  and  Silas  are  there.  They  are  vigorous 
young  missionaries  belonging  to  a  generation  coming 
next  after  that  to  which  Peter  belongs.  But  who  is  that 
venerable  man  who  sits  as  president  of  the  council  and 
who  guides  its  deliberations  through  to  a  successful 
issue,  so  that  the  Church  is  saved  from  the  threatened 
disruption  and  true  believers  bound  once  more  into  a 
fellowship  like  that  which  marked  the  days  succeeding 
Pentecost?  It  is  James,  the  Lord’s  brother.  He  is  the 
leading  man  of  the  Jerusalem  church  and  that  means 
the  leading  man  in  all  the  Church.  He  has  made  his 
way  to  leadership  through  his  sterling  qualities  of  char¬ 
acter  and  is  deeply  respected  even  outside  of  the  circle 
of  Christian  believers. 

A  Letter  Which  James  Wrote  to  the  Christians  of 
His  Day.  By  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  the 
Jews  had  been  scattered  over  most  of  the  known  world. 
These  Jews  living  outside  of  Palestine  were  called  the 
Dispersion.  Many  of  these  Jews  of  the  Dispersion  heard 
of  Jesus  through  the  preaching  of  Paul,  Silas,  and  other 
Christian  missionaries,  and  became  followers  of  Christ. 
The  wide  interest  of  James  and  his  influence  over  a 
large  part  of  the  civilized  world  are  shown  by  the  fact 
that  he  wrote  a  letter  to  these  Christian  Jews  of  the 
Dispersion.  If  the  sympathies  of  James  had  not  gone 
out  far  beyond  his  own  city  and  his  own  country,  he 


112  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


would  not  have  taken  the  trouble  to  write  to  these 
far-away  Christians.  If  he  had  not  been  known  and 
respected  widely  his  letter  would  not  have  been  very 
effective. 

A  Boy  Who  Gave  His  Pennies  eor  Missions 

A  good  many  years  ago  there  lived  near  the  village 
of  Waterford,  Maine,  a  lad  named  Cyrus  Hamlin.  Cyrus 
attended  the  Sunday  school  in  the  little  church  in  Water¬ 
ford.  In  the  Sunday  school  was  a  woman  who  took 
great  interest  in  foreign  missions  and  who  believed  in 
teaching  children  to  take  an  interest  in  sending  the 
gospel  to  all  the  world.  This  woman’s  name  was  Mrs. 
Farrar  and  she  kept  a  small  box  into  which  she  asked 
the  children  to  drop  their  offerings  at  Sunday  school  or 
when  they  happened  to  come  to  her  home. 

One  day  there  was  what  was  called  in  those  days  a 
“muster” ;  that  is,  all  the  men  and  the  boys  who  were 
old  enough  gathered  for  military  training.  They 
marched,  had  sham  battles,  and  music  by  fife  and  drum. 
It  was  a  great  day  for  the  boys  of  the  village.  On  the 
morning  of  the  “muster,”  Cyrus  started  early  for  the 
scene  of  the  day’s  maneuvers.  As  he  left  the  house  his 
mother  gave  him  seven  cents  with  which  to  buy  some¬ 
thing  for  his  noonday  lunch,  at  the  same  time  suggest¬ 
ing  that  he  save  a  penny  or  two  for  Mrs.  Farrar’s  mite 
box.  Cyrus  was  going  by  Mrs.  Farrar’s  home  and  he 
thought  he  might  as  well  put  in  what  he  could  at  once. 
But  when  he  selected  one  cent,  he  remembered  that  his 
mother  had  said  one  or  two,  so  he  thought  he  would 
put  in  two  pennies  and  keep  five  for  his  lunch.  But 
his  conscience  began  to  bother  him.  He  seemed  to  hear 
a  voice  saying:  “Five  for  yourself  and  two  for  the 
heathen!  Five  for  gingerbread  and  two  for  souls!”  So 
he  changed  his  mind  and  said  That  he  would  put  three 
cents  in  the  mite  box.  But  there  was  still  more  for 
himself  than  for  the  missionaries.  He  changed  his  mind 
again  and  said  that  he  would  give  four  cents  to  the  mis¬ 
sionaries  and  keep  three  for  himself ;  but  he  was  ashamed 
to  have  the  boys  know  that  he  had  only  three  cents  to 
spend  and  so  when  he  reached  Mrs.  Farrar’s  he  put  all 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  113 


his  coins  in  the  mite  box,  went  on  to  the  muster,  and 
got  along  without  anything  to  eat  all  day. 

That  night  he  came  home  saying:  “Mother,  Fm  as 
hungry  as  a  bear !  I  haven’t  had  anything  to  eat  to-day.” 
His  mother  asked  him  what  he  had  done  with  the  money 
she  gave  him  and  he  answered :  “Mother,  you  didn’t  give 
it  to  me  right.  If  you  had  given  me  eight  cents  or  six 
cents,  I  would  have  divided  it  half  and  half.  But  you 
gave  me  seven.  I  couldn’t  divide  it,  and  so  I  dropped 
it  all  in  together.” 

You  will  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that  Cyrus  became 
a  missionary  when  he  was  grown  to  be  a  man.  He  was 
the  first  president  of  Robert  College  in  Constantinople. 

The:  Ee:sson  Praye:r 

Our  Father  in  heaven,  we  thank  thee  for  the  practical 
lessons  in  Christian  living  which  are  contained  in  the 
Bible.  We  know  that  these  lessons  are  to  be  found  not 
only  in  the  words  and  the  writings  of  those  who  were 
thy  servants  in  Bible  times,  but  likewise  in  all  that 
they  did  and  all  that  they  were.  Give  us  understanding 
hearts  so  that  we  may  know  the  truth.  Make  our  wills 
obedient  so  that  we  may  do  that  which  pleases  thee.  We 
ask  in  Jesus’  name.  Amen. 

The:  Le:sson  Hymn 

“Stand  Up,  Stand  Up  for  Jesus.”  “Studies  of  Familiar 
ITymns,”  page  13. 

EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

SOME  LESSONS  FROM  THE  EPISTLE  OF  JAMES 

James  1 :19-27 

The  Epistle  of  James  is  full  of  advice  concerning 
practical  Christian  living.  We  feel  as  we  read  the  words 
of  James  that  he  is  speaking  out  of  his  own  experience 
and  not  as  a  mere  theorist.  Take  the  first  admonition  of 
the  section  which  has  been  chosen  as  our  Scripture  les¬ 
son  :  “But  let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear,  slow  to  speak, 


114  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


slow  to  wrath.”  James  was  chosen  to  be  chairman  at 
the  council  of  Jerusalem  because  he  possessed  the  quali¬ 
ties  which  he  recommends  in  this  verse.  He  was  a  good 
listener,  “swift  to  hear.”  He  heard  patiently  the  opinions 
of  those  who  represented  both  sides  of  the  controversy 
which  was  threatening  to  disrupt  the  Church.  A  leader 
of  great  causes  must  always  be  “swift  to  hear.”  He  was 
also  “slow  to  speak.”  He  spoke  only  after  he  had  heard 
all  the  others  and  had  pondered  the  matter  in  his  mind. 
James  was  “slow  to  wrath.”  He  knew  how  to  control 
his  temper.  As  leader  of  the  church  at  Jerusalem  he  had 
many  perplexing  problems  to  solve.  He  had  to  deal 
with  some  people  who  at  times  were  very  provoking, 
but  James  had  learned  that  there  was  nothing  to  be 
gained  and  much  to  lose  by  losing  his  temper.  He  had 
learned  that  “the  wrath  of  man  worketh  not  the  right¬ 
eousness  of  God.” 

James  knew  that  in  purity  there  is  strength,  hence 
he  urged  the  Christians  of  his  day  to  put  away  “all  filthi¬ 
ness  and  overflowing  of  wickedness.”  James  could  not 
endure  a  religion  which  did  not  make  itself  manifest  in 
conduct.  He  urges  the  Christians  to  be  “doers  of  the 
word,  and  not  hearers  only.”  “Pure  religion,”  he  says, 
“is  this,  to  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  afflic¬ 
tion,  and  to  keep  oneself  unspotted  from  the  world.” 

Some:  Truths  trom  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

Both  James  the  disciple  and  James  the  Lord’s  brother 
learned  from  Jesus  the  lessons  which  made  them  great 
in  character.  Both  had  serious  faults  to  overcome. 

The  family  of  Jesus  misunderstood  him  because  his 
ways  of  thinking  and  acting  were  so  much  higher  and 
purer  than  theirs. 

James  the  Lord’s  brother  became  a  great  man  because 
he  had  ability,  but  chiefly  because  he  had  learned  lessons 
from  Jesus  which  made  him  wise,  pure,  and  strong. 

James  the  disciple  was  not  at  first  “slow  to  wrath,” 
but  he  learned  self-control  from  his  great  Teacher. 

James  the  Lord’s  brother  had  been  for  a  time  a  doubter 
and  he  may  have  spoken  out  of  experience  when  he 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  115 


wrote,  “He  that  doubteth  is  like  the  surge  of  the  sea 
driven  by  the  wind  and  tossed.” 

Review  Questions 

1.  Name  the  groups  of  brothers  among  the  disciples. 

2.  Why  did  Jesus  give  some  of  his  disciples  new 
names  ? 

3.  Name  the  occasions  when  Peter,  James,  and  John 
were  alone  with  Jesus. 

4.  Show  that  James  the  disciple  had  certain  defects 
of  character. 

5.  Why  did  Herod  Agrippa  have  James  the  disciple 
put  to  death? 

6.  What  do  we  know  about  the  size  of  the  family 
in  which  Jesus  grew  up? 

7.  Why  did  Jesus’  relatives  find  it  hard  to  accept  him 
as  the  Messiah? 

8.  How  were  Jesus’  relatives  brought  to  a  faith  in 
Jesus  ? 

9.  Name  some  facts  concerning  the  Council  of 
Jerusalem. 

10.  Tell  what  you  can  of  the  life  and  character  of 
James  the  Lord’s  brother. 

Bibee  Verses 

James  1 :1  (shows  that  James  regarded  Jesus  as  God’s 
Son  and  the  Messiah)  ;  ch.  1 :5  (source  of  James’s  wis¬ 
dom)  ;  ch.  1  ;17  (what  James  thought  about  God)  ;  ch. 
2:14  (faith  which  H  not  genuine)  ;  ch.  4:1  (the  source  of 
wars). 

Study  Topics 

1.  Lessons  in  This  Epistle  Which  James  Had  Learned 
from  Jesus.  (Compare  James  1 :22  with  Matt.  7  :21  and 
James  5:12  with  Matt.  5:33-37.) 

2.  The  Democracy  of  James.  James  2:1-4. 

3.  Two  Kinds  of  Wisdom.  James  3:3-18. 

4.  The  Power  of  the  Tongue  for  Good  and  for  Evil. 
James  3 :1-12. 

5.  The  Selfish  Use  of  Unearned  Wealth.  James  5  :l-6. 


116  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


6.  Self-Confidence  Which  Leaves  God  Out  of  Ac¬ 
count.  James  4:13-17. 

7.  The  Voice  of  Jehovah  in  the  Storm.  (A  study  of 
the  Twenty-ninth  Psalm  by  the  pastor  or  some  adult 
person.) 

8.  Why  the  Name  Boanerges  Was  Suitable  for  James 
and  John. 

9.  A  Truth  from  the  Epistle  of  James  Which  Ought 
to  Help  Us  in  Our  Homes. 

10.  A  Truth  from  the  Epistle  of  James  Which  Ought 
to  Help  Us  in  Our  School  Life. 

Putting  the  Truths  oe  the  Lesson  Into  Practice 

Make  a  list  of  the  admonitions  of  James  in  this  epistle; 
such  as  “Be  swift  to  hear;  be  slow  to  speak;  be  slow 
to  wrath ;  do  not  have  respect  of  persons  for  the  sake 
of  advantage;  speak  not  one  against  another;”  et  cetera. 
Have  written  but  unsigned  reports  as  to  experiences  in 
carrying  out  such  admonitions. 


CHAPTER  X 

DISCIPLES  OF  WHOM  BUT  LITTLE  IS  KNOWN 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

PHILIP  AND  THOMAS,  DISCIPLES  SLOW  OF  BELIEF 
John  1  :43-51 ;  6:5-7;  12:20-22;  14:1-12;  20:24-29 

We  have  seen  how  hard  it  was  for  even  the  mother 
and  brothers  of  Jesus  to  believe  in  him.  The  difficulty 
lay  in  the  fact  that  Jesus  did  not  do  the  things  which  they 
expected  the  Messiah  to  do.  Considering  this  fact,  it  is 
not  strange  that  the  disciples  of  Jesus  all  passed  through 
periods  of  struggle  before  they  came  to  a  clear  and  un¬ 
shakable  faith  in  their  Leader  as  God’s  Son  and  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  The  wonderful  thing  is,  not  the 
few  instances  when  the  disciples  expressed  doubt,  but 
the  fact  that  all  save  one  of  the  twelve  men  whom  Jesus 
chose  to  be  with  him  came  to  have  a  faith  in  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah  that  made  them  willing  to  give  their  lives  for 
their  Leader.  Very  naturally  some  of  the  disciples  had 
more  difficulty  in  this  matter  than  other  disciples  did. 
Two  of  the  disciples  who  seem  to  have  been  slow  of 
belief  are  Philip  and  Thomas.  In  this  lesson  we  are  to 
learn  how  the  doubts  of  these  two  followers  of  Jesus 
were  dispelled  enabling  them  to  become  strong  and  effi¬ 
cient  workers  for  the  Kingdom  of  Christ. 

A  Fellow  Townsman  of  Andrew  and  Peter.  John  1 :44. 
Philip  lived  in  Bethsaida,  a  town  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
Sea  of  Galilee.  This  was  also  the  home  of  Andrew  and 
Peter.  Philip  was  probably  well  acquainted  with  them, 
and  also  with  their  partners  in  the  fishing  business,  the 
sons  of  Zebedee.  This  may  be  why  Philip  is  mentioned 
so  many  more  times  in  the  Gospel  which  John  wrote 
than  in  the  other  Gospels.  John  remembered  the  events 
connected  with  his  friend  and  townsman. 

It  was  through  his  acquaintance  with  Peter  and  An¬ 
drew  that  Philip  first  met  Jesus.  Philip  must  have  been 
a  man  of  promise,  for  Jesus  had  hardly  looked  upon  him 
when  he  called  him  to  become  a  follower. 


117 


118  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Philip  Brings  a  Friend  to  Jesus.  John  1 :45-51.  Im¬ 
mediately  after  Jesus  called  Philip  to  be  a  follower, 
Philip  went  out  and  found  a  friend  named  Nathanael, 
Philip  was  full  of  enthusiasm  and  said  to  his  friend, 
.“We  have  found  him,  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law,  and 
the  prophets,  wrote,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  son  of  Jo¬ 
seph.”  Now  Nazareth  was  a  town  which  did  not  have 
a  very  good  reputation  among  the  Jews.  It  was  not 
very  large  and  was  probably  a  new  town  since  it  is  not 
mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament.  So  Nathanael’s  first 
response  to  the  words  of  Philip  was,  “Can  any  good  thing 
come  out  of  Nazareth?”  Philip’s  enthusiasm  could  not 
be  cooled  by  his  friend’s  question.  He  knew  that  if 
Nathanael  could  but  see  Jesus  and  talk  with  him,  the 
question  would  be  answered,  so  he  shouted  with  un¬ 
abated  enthusiasm,  “Come  and  see.”  Nathanael  came 
and  talked  with  Jesus,  believed  on  him,  and  there  and 
then  became  a  disciple. 

Learning  Faith  in  the  School  of  Christ.  John  6:5-7. 
Philip  may  have  been  one  of  those  individuals  whose 
enthusiasm  kindles  quickly  but  is  apt  to  be  quenched 
with  equal  abruptness.  We  feel  as  we  read  of  him  in 
other  parts  of  the  Gospels  that  he  did  not  quite  live  up 
to  the  good  start  he  had  made.  Perhaps  he  found  it 
hard  to  change  his  ideas  as  to  what  the  Messiah  was  to 
be  and  do.  Jesus  knew  each  of  his  disciples  intimately 
and  he  gave  them,  not  only  general  instruction,  but  also 
individual  help.  Jesus  soon  found  that  Philip’s  great 
danger  lay  in  his  tendency  to  lose  faith  in  a  Messiah 
whom  he  could  not  understand.  So  Jesus  watched  for 
occasions  when  he  could  help  this  disciple  over  his 
difficulties. 

One  day  there  was  a  great  multitude  of  people  with 
Jesus  and  his  disciples.  They  were  far  away  from  any 
village  where  food  could  be  bought,  nor  did  Jesus  and 
his  disciples  have  money  enough  to  buy  food  for  the 
people,  had  it  been  readily  obtainable.  Turning  to  Philip, 
Jesus  said,  “Whence  are  we  to  buy  bread,  that  these  may 
eat?”  Philip  replied,  “Two  hundred  shillings’  worth  of 
bread  is  not  sufficient  for  them,  that  every  one  may  take 
a  little.”  Philip  probably  knew  that  this  sum  of  money 
was  far  beyond  the  resources  of  Jesus  and  his  disciples. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  119 

at  least  beyond  that  which  was  available,  and  his  an¬ 
swer  was  the  same  as  saying  that  it  was  impossible  for 
Jesus  and  his  followers  to  offer  even  a  little  bread  to 
each  person  in  the  multitude.  If  Philip  can  be  called  a 
doubter,  he  was  at  least  an  honest  doubter,  and  the  act 
of  Jesus  in  feeding  the  multitude  must  have  helped  him 
to  conclude  that  Jesus  must  be  the  Messiah. 

Philip  and  the  Greeks.  John  12:20-22.  It  was  to 
Philip  that  the  Greek  visitors  to  Jerusalem  came  asking 
to  see  Jesus.  We  have  seen  how  Philip  was  uncertain 
as  to  what  he  ought  to  do  about  this  request  and  sought 
the  advice  of  his  friend,  Andrew.  He  was  apparently 
still  blinded  by  his  own  ideas  as  to  what  the  Messiah 
should  be  and  do.  He  did  not  think  that  it  would  be 
quite  fitting  for  Jesus  to  talk  with  foreigners,  if  he  were 
really  the  expected  King  of  Israel.  Faith  gives  spiritual 
vision  and  Philip’s  faith  was  not  yet  very  perfect,  so  he 
was  confused  in  his  thinking  on  the  matter. 

“Show  Us  the  Father,  and  It  Sufficeth  Us.”  John  14: 
8-12.  When  Jesus  was  making  his  farewell  talk  to  his 
disciples  in  the  upper  room  at  Jerusalem,  Philip  inter¬ 
rupted  him  with  the  remark,  “Lord,  show  us  the  Father, 
and  it  sufficeth  us.”  Jesus  had  all  the  time  been  show¬ 
ing  the  disciples  what  God  was  like.  He  had  shown 
them  by  his  conduct  and  by  his  teaching.  He  was  God’s 
Son  and  God’s  Representative.  There  is  pathetic  sor¬ 
row  in  the  words  of  Jesus  to  his  disciple :  “Have  I  been 
so  long  time  with  you,  and  dost  thou  not  know  me, 
Philip?  he  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father;  how 
sayest  thou.  Show  us  the  Father?  Believest  thou  not 
that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  me?” 

Thomas,  a  Man  of  Melancholy  Disposition.  John  14: 
1-7.  Thomas,  like  Philip,  was  slow  of  belief,  but  his 
difficulties  were  of  another  kind  than  those  of  Philip. 
He  was  a  man  of  a  melancholy  turn  of  mind.  He  had 
a  habit  of  looking  on  the  dark  side.  When  Jesus  was 
going  up  to  Jerusalem  after  the  death  of  Lazarus, 
Thomas  was  sure  that  the  worst  would  happen  and  that 
Jesus  would  be  put  to  death.  Thomas  had  heroic  devo¬ 
tion,  however.  He  said  to  the  other  disciples  on  the 
occasion  mentioned,  “Let  us  also  go,  that  we  may  die 
with  him.” 


120  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOELOWERS  OF  JESUS 

Thomas,  like  Philip,  interrupted  Jesus’  last  talk  with 
the  disciples  by  asking  a  question.  Jesus  had  said, 
“Whither  I  go,  ye  know  the  way.”  Thomas  said,  “Lord, 
we  know  not  whither  thou  goest ;  how  know  we  the 
way?”  Jesus  replied  in  the  memorable  words:  “I  am 
the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life :  no  one  cometh  unto 
the  Father,  but  by  me.” 

Thomas  Convinced  of  the  Resurrection  of  Jesus.  John 
20 :24-29.  Thomas  was  not  with  the  other  disciples  when 
Jesus  first  appeared  to  them  after  his  resurrection.  He 
could  not  believe  that  Jesus  was  alive,  even  when  the 
other  disciples  declared  that  they  had  seen  him.  “Except 
I  shall  see  in  his  hands  the  print  of  the  nails,”  said 
Thomas,  “and  put  my  finger  into  the  print  of  the  nails, 
and  put  my  hand  into  his  side,  I  will  not  believe.” 

A  week  later,  Jesus  appeared  again  when  Thomas  was 
present  and  gave  him  the  proofs  which  he  had  declared 
to  be  necessary.  Thomas  was  so  overwhelmed  with 
emotion  when  he  knew  that  Jesus  was  alive  that  he  could 
only  say,  “My  Lord  and  my  God.”  Jesus  said  to  him, 
“Because  thou  hast  seen  me,  thou  hast  believed:  blessed 
are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed.” 

Both  Philip  and  Thomas  came  to  have  a  firm  and  un^ 
failing  faith  in  Jesus.  After  his  resurrection,  they  be¬ 
came  preachers  of  the  gospel  which  Jesus  had  given 
them. 

How  Prayers  or  Faith  Buiet  a  Mission  Station  in  the 

Heart  or  Arrica 

In  1875,  Henry  M.  Stanley  passed  through  Uganda,  a 
country  of  Central  Africa.  He  paused  long  enough  to 
win  the  confidence  of  the  native  king,  Mutesa.  The  king 
was  especially  interested  in  what  Stanley  told  him 
about  Christianity  and  the  God  whom  Christians  wor¬ 
shiped.  As  Stanley  bade  farewell  to  the  king  and  his 
subjects,  Mutesa  said,  in  broken  English,  “Stamlee,  say 
to  the  white  people,  that  I  am  like  a  man  sitting  in  dark¬ 
ness,  or  born  blind,  and  that  all  I  ask  is  that  I  may  be 
taught  how  to  see,  and  I  shall  continue  a  Christian  while 
I  live.” 

Mr.  Stanley  wrote  to  a  London  newspaper,  telling  of 
his  meeting  with  the  African  king  and  urging  that  mis- 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  121 


sionaries  be  sent  to  establish  a  mission  station  in 
Uganda.  A  copy  of  the  paper  containing  Stanley’s  article 
reached  the  office  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in 
London.  When  the  secretaries  read  this  call  out  of  the 
heart  of  the  Dark  Continent,  they  felt  that  God  was 
laying  upon  them  the  task  of  sending  the  gospel  to  the 
country  of  Mutesa.  But  they  had  no  funds  for  so  large 
an  undertaking;  also  no  workers  were  ready  to  go  had 
the  funds  to  send  them  been  available. 

Locking  the  office  doors,  the  secretaries  prayed  to 
God  that  a  way  might  be  opened  whereby  they  could 
build  a  station  in  the  country  of  the  African  king  who 
was  longing  for  the  true  religion.  It  was  only  three 
days  afterward  that  a  letter  arrived  containing  $25,000 
for  the  establishing  of  a  mission  in  Uganda.  In  a  little 
while  the  fund  had  grown  to  $120,000.  Workers  were 
likewise  secured  in  a  remarkably  short  time.  Over  in 
Germany  a  young  Scotchman  named  Alexander  Mackay 
was  studying  engineering.  He  read  about  the  proposed 
mission  in  an  Edinburgh  newspaper  and  at  once  felt  that 
God  was  calling  him  to  go  as  a  missionary  to  Uganda.  He 
wrote  offering  himself  as  a  missionary  for  the  African 
field.  In  a  little  while  eight  volunteers  set  sail  to  build 
a  mission  in  Mutesa’s  Kingdom  of  Uganda. 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

SIMON  THE  CANAN^AN  AND  OTHER  LITTLE 

KNOWN  DISCIPLES 

Luke  6:12-19;  John  1:45-51;  14:21-24 

There  are  some  of  the  disciples  concerning  whom  only 
brief  statements  are  found  in  the  New  Testament.  It  is 
worth  our  while,  however,  to  search  these  meager  records 
that  we  may  find  out  all  we  can  concerning  the  men  whom 
Jesus  chose  to  be  with  him  as  his  special  pupils  and  upon 
whom  he  laid  the  great  task  of  making  his  life  and  mes¬ 
sages  known  to  the  world.  Four  of  these  little-known 
disciples  will  be  studied  in  this  lesson.  This  will  com¬ 
plete  the  list  of  the  twelve  disciples  with  the  exception 


122  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


of  Judas  Iscariot,  whose  tragic  failure  will  be  considered 
in  a  later  lesson. 

Simon  the  Cananaean.  Matt.  10:4.  We  can  infer  a 
good  deal  as  to  the  character  of  this  disciple  from  the 
fact  that  he  was,  or  had  been,  a  member  of  a  party  called 
the  Cananaeans.  This  party  was  made  up  of  fiercely 
fanatical  Hebrews  who  were  determined  to  throw  off  the 
Roman  rule  at  any  cost.  They  held  secret  meetings  and 
went  about  with  swords  or  daggers  concealed  under 
their  clothing  that  they  might  be  ready,  at  a  moment’s 
notice,  to  take  up  the  revolt  against  Rome.  At  various 
times  they  made  stubborn  but  unsuccessful  attempts  to 
overthrow  the  Roman  power.  Simon  must  have  been 
intensely  patriotic,  since  he  was  a  member  of  this  party. 
He  was  doubtless  a  daring  young  fellow  who  counted  it 
a  privilege  to  ri^k  his  life  for  his  country.  Jesus  saw  in 
him  the  possibilities  for  large  service  in  setting  up  the 
Kingdom  of  God  in  the  world.  Of  course  Simon’s  ideas 
and  his  methods  had  to  be  profoundly  changed  before 
he  could  become  a  worker  for  the  kind  of  Kingdom  which 
Jesus  had  in  mind. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  Simon  was  the  work  mate 
of  Judas  Iscariot  on  the  preaching  tour  of  the  disciples. 
Jesus  may  have  placed  this  intensely  patriotic  man  in 
company  with  Judas  for  a  purpose.  It  may  be  that 
Jesus  hoped  that  the  fiery  zeal  of  Simon  would  stir  the 
heart  of  Judas  to  enthusiasm  and  devotion. 

James  the  Son  of  Alphasus.  Matt.  10:3.  Of  the  two 
disciples  who  bore  the  name  of  James,  one  was  the 
brother  of  John  and  the  son  of  Zebedee.  The  other  is 
called  “the  son  of  Alphasus.”  Since  Matthew’s  father 
was  named  Alphaeus,  this  second  James  may  have  been 
a  brother  of  Matthew.  In  several  places  in  the  Gospels 
a  certain  man  called  “James  the  Less,”  or  “James  the 
Little,”  is  mentioned.  This  is  probably  the  same  person 
as  James  the  son  of  Alphasus.  He  may  have  been  given 
the  name  because  he  was  small  of  stature.  James  the 
Less  had  a  brother  named  Joses  and  his  mother’s  name 
was  Mary. 

Judas,  the  Son  of  James.  Luke  6:16.  This  disciple 
also  bore  the  name  Thaddaeus,  by  which  name  he  is  listed 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  123 


in  the  roll  of  the  apostles  by  Matthew  and  Mark.  Luke 
always  calls  him  “Judas  the  son  of  James.”  John  men¬ 
tions  Judas  once,  being  careful  'to  follow  his  name  with 
the  significant  phrase  “not  Iscariot.”  When  Jesus  was 
speaking  to  his  disciples  in  the  upper  room  just  before 
going  out  to  Gethsemane,  he  said  to  them,  “He  that 
loveth  me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father,  and  I  will  love 
him,  and  will  manifest  myself  unto  him.”  At  this  point 
Judas  broke  in  with  a  question.  He  said,  “Lord,  what 
is  come  to  pass  that  thou  wilt  manifest  thyself  unto  us, 
and  not  unto  the  world?”  This  brief  remark  shows  us 
that  Judas,  like  the  other  disciples,  had  been  longing  for 
the  time  when  Jesus  would  do  some  wonderful  act  which 
would  demonstrate  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  that  he  was 
the  Messiah.  Judas  could  not  yet  comprehend  the  im¬ 
portance  of  that  inner  manifestation  which  Jesus  makes 
to  those  individuals  who  believe  on  him  and  love  him. 
He  was  still  thinking  of  some  spectacular  manifestation 
which  Jesus  would  make  to  the  nation  as  a  first  step 
toward  setting  up  his  Kingdom.  John  14:21-24. 

Nathanael,  the  Friend  of  Philip.  John  1 :45-51.  Like 
so  many  of  the  other  disciples  Nathanael  had  two  names. 
He  is  sometimes  called  Bartholomew.  Nathanael’s 
home  was  in  Cana  of  Galilee.  Soon  after  Philip  met 
Jesus  and  decided  to  become  a  disciple,  he  went  out  and 
found  his  friend  Nathanael,  telling  him  that  they  had 
discovered  the  long-expected  Messiah.  In  answer  to 
Philip’s  invitation,  he  went  with  Philip  to  meet  Jesus. 
When  Jesus  saw  Nathanael  coming,  he  said,  “Behold, 
an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile!”  Nathanael 
was  surprised  at  the  words  of  Jesus  and  said,  “Whence 
knowest  thou  me?”  Jesus  answered,  “Before  Philip 
called  thee,  when  thou  wast  under  the  fig  tree,  I  saw 
thee.”  Nathanael  was  so  impressed  by  what  he  believed 
to  be  the  supernatural  power  of  Jesus  that  he  answered, 
“Rabbi,  thou  art  the  Son  of  God;  thou  art  King  of 
Israel.”  Jesus  told  Nathanael  that  he  should  shortly 
see  far  more  wonderful  things  than  that  he  had  just 
witnessed.  And  so  Nathanael  came  to  be  one  of  the 
disciples. 

Nathanael  is  mentioned  again  by  John  in  the  account 


124  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


of  the  miraculous  draft  of  fishes  caught  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  Jesus  after  his  resurrection.  John  21 :2.  Under 
the  name  of  Bartholomew  he  is  mentioned  in  the  lists  of 
the  apostles.  In  these  lists  his  name  always  stands  next 
to  that  of  his  friend,  Philip.  These  two  were  evidently 
companions  when  Jesus  sent  out  his  disciples  two  by 
two. 

The  four  disciples  mentioned  in  this  lesson  all  came 
to  a  full  faith  in  Jesus  after  his  resurrection.  All  are 
mentioned  as  being  in  the  company  gathered  in  the 
upper  room  at  Jerusalem  after  the  ascension  of  Jesus. 
All  gave  the  remainder  of  their  lives  to  the  service  of 
the  Church  and  the  building  up  of  God’s  Kingdom  in 
the  world.  It  may  seem  unfortunate  that  we  know  so 
little  about  the  lives  of  these  men  who  were  chosen  by 
Jesus  to  carry  on  the  work  he  had  begun,  but  when  we 
consider  the  matter,  we  see  that  we  are  told  the  things 
which  are  most  important.  That  they  learned  to  believe 
fully  in  their  great  Leader,  and  were  faithful  to  him  as 
long  as  they  lived,  is  after  all  the  thing  which  we  need 
most  to  know. 

The  Twelve  Apostles.  It  may  be  useful  for  us  to  learn 
the  complete  list  of  the  apostles  so  that  whenever  we 
come  across  the  name  of  any  one  of  them  in  the  New 
Testament  or  elsewhere  we  can  at  once  associate  the 
name  of  the  apostle  with  what  we  have  learned  during 
these  lessons : 

Simon,  also  called  Peter. 

Andrew,  the  brother  of  Simon. 

James,  the  son  of  Zebedee. 

John,  the  son  of  Zebedee. 

Philip,  friend  of  Nathanael. 

Nathanael,  also  called  Bartholomew. 

Thomas,  sometimes  called  Didymus. 

Matthew,  also  called  Levi. 

James,  the  son  of  Alphaeus,  sometimes  called  James 
the  Less. 

Judas,  the  son  of  James,  also  called  Thaddaeus. 

Simon  the  Cananaean. 

Judas  Iscariot. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  125 


Washington  at  Vai.IvEy  Forge: 

Most  of  the  truly  great  men  and  women  of  history 
have  been  praying  people.  Their  habit  of  praying  has 
been  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  their  greatness.  Prayer 
brings  a  person  into  a  near  fellowship  with  God  and  it 
develops  the  soul  into  the  likeness  of  God.  We  grow 
like  those  with  whom  we  have  fellowship. 

The  winter  which  the  little  American  army  spent  at 
Valley  Forge  was  one  of  the  darkest  periods  of  the  Revo¬ 
lutionary  War.  The  American  cause  seemed  all  but 
lost.  Philadelphia,  the  capital  of  the  colonies,  had  been 
taken,  and  the  British  troops  had  advanced  to  German¬ 
town.  The  American  army  was  miserably  sheltered  in 
rude  log  cabins  or  dilapidated  tents.  The  soldiers  were 
without  suitable  clothing  and  many  had  no  shoes.  They 
left  their  bloody  footprints  on  the  frozen  ground 
whenever  they  attempted  to  move  about. 

It  was  a  time  of  severe  testing  for  George  Washing¬ 
ton.  As  the  commander  in  chief  of  the  American  forces, 
he  naturally  bore  a  heavy  burden  of  responsibility. 
Many  were  against  him  and  charged  that  his  incom¬ 
petence  was  the  cause  of  the  American  disasters.  A 
group  of  officers  in  the  American  army  had  banded  them¬ 
selves  together  to  secure  his  resignation.  They  tried  in 
every  way  to  wound  his  feelings  so  that  he  would  resign, 
but  Washington  loved  the  cause  and  he  was  of  the  kind 
that  never  gives  up. 

One  day  the  man  whose  house  Washington  was  occu¬ 
pying  for  the  winter  was  passing  through  a  lonely  wood 
some  distance  from  the  American  camp.  He  heard  a 
voice  somewhere  off  among  the  thick  growth  of  trees  and 
underbrush.  Cautiously  approaching  he  saw  Washing¬ 
ton  on  his  knees  in  prayer.  Tears  were  running  down 
his  cheeks  and  he  was  talking  with  God  about  the  des¬ 
perate  situation  of  the  American  cause.  That  night  this 
man  told  his  wife  of  the  incident  and  added,  ‘Tf  there  is 
anyone  in  all  the  world  the  Lord  will  hear,  it  is  George 
Washington.”  We  know  that  his  prayers  were  heard 
and  that  our  nation  has  grown  great  and  strong  because 
we  have  had  many  who,  like  Washington,  sought  help 
from  God  in  every  time  of  need. 


126  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


The;  Lesson  Prayer 

Make  us  truly  grateful,  our  Father,  for  the  privilege 
of  prayer.  Help  us  to  appreciate  its  importance.  As 
Jesus  taught  his  disciples  to  pray,  so  may  we  learn  from 
him  the  same  lesson.  Forgive  us  for  the  many  times  we 
have  forgotten  thee  and  been  disobedient.  We  thank 
thee  for  our  country  and  are  grateful  to  thee  for  the 
many  men  and  women  of  our  land  who  have  held  posi¬ 
tions  of  responsibility  and  have  honored  thee.  Make 
our  nation  more  and  more  Christian.  Help  our  Congress 
and  our  President  to  show  the  spirit  of  Jesus  in  their 
dealings  with  other  nations.  We  ask  in  the  name  of 
thy  Son.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“My  Faith  Looks  Up  to  Thee.”  “Studies  of  Familiar 
Hymns,”  page  75. 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

LEARNING  TO  PRAY  IN  THE  SCHOOL  OF  JESUS 

Matt.  6:5-15;  Acts  4:23-31 

The  subject  of  prayer  had  a  large  place  in  the  instruc¬ 
tion  which  Jesus  gave  to  his  disciples.  From  the  very 
first  he  began  to  teach  them  about  the  need  of  prayer 
and  the  nature  of  prayer.  In  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
he  told  his  followers  that  prayer  should  not  be  for  dis¬ 
play.  They  were  not  to  pray  to  “be  seen  of  men.”  They 
were  to  enter  into  their  closets,  close  the  doors,  and 
pray  to  their  Father  in  secret.  They  were  not  to  use 
vain  repetitions,  saying  the  same  prayer  over  and  over  as 
though  it  had  some  magical  charm ;  they  were  to  talk  in  a 
plain  and  sensible  way  with  God  as  though  he  were  their 
Father.  Jesus  then  gave  his  disciples  that  model  prayer 
which  has  ever  since  been  called  “The  Lord’s  Prayer.” 
It  is  a  simple  but  wonderfully  comprehensive  prayer. 
It  begins,  as  all  prayer  should,  with  the  spirit  of  adoring 
praise  to  God.  It  asks  with  sublime  simplicity  for  the 
greatest  thing  in  all  the  world  and  the  most  important: 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  127 


the  coming  of  God’s  Kingdom  and  the  time  when  God’s 
will  shall  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven.  It 
asks  for  daily  bread,  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  for 
victory  in  times  of  temptation.  This  prayer  which  the 
disciples  learned  from  Jesus  is  a  prayer  for  every  age 
and  every  individual. 

All  through  his  ministry,  Jesus  continued  to  teach  his 
disciples  about  prayer.  One  of  his  last  admonitions  to 
them,  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane  just  before  the  com¬ 
ing  of  Judas  to  betray  him,  was  '‘Watch  and  pray,  that 
ye  enter  not  into  temptation.” 

Jesus  probably  taught  his  disciples  even  more  about 
prayer  by  his  own  habits  of  prayer  than  he  did  by  his 
words  of  instruction  on  the  subject.  When  they  heard 
him  pray,  they  wished  to  become  able  to  pray  in  the 
same  way. 

The  second  passage  of  Scripture  tells  of  a  prayer  meet¬ 
ing  among  the  followers  of  Jesus  after  his  ascension. 
The  followers  of  Jesus  had  at  that  time  learned  really 
to  pray  and  wonderful  things  were  being  accomplished 
by  prayer. 

Some  Truths  from  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

Perhaps  it  was  hard  for  Thomas  to  believe  in  Jesus 
because  he  had  not  learned  to  pray  in  the  right  way.  A 
life  full  of  prayer  can  hardly  be  a  life  darkened  by  mel¬ 
ancholy.  The  exclamation  of  Thomas,  “My  Lord  and 
my  God,”  was  a  real  prayer.  Perhaps  from  that  hour 
his  faith  in  Jesus  led  him  into  habits  of  true  prayer. 

The  building  of  the  Uganda  mission  in  answer  to 
prayer  is  not  an  isolated  incident.  Missionary  history 
is  full  of  just  such  answers  to  prayer. 

Simon  the  Canansean  learned  from  Jesus  that  prayer 
is  mightier  than  the  sword. 

Nathanael  may  have  been  praying  under  the  fig  tree. 
This  seems  probable  in  view  of  the  words  of  Jesus  which 
stated  that  Nathanael  was  “an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom 
is  no  guile !”  Men  of  whom  such  a  statement  can  be 
made  are  always  men  who  pray. 


128  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Review  Questions 

1.  Name  an  incident  which  shows  that  the  faith  of  the 
disciples  had  a  gradual  growth. 

2.  Show  how  Jesus  tried  to  help  his  disciples  to  a 
true  faith  in  him.  (His  words  to  Philip  at  the  feeding 
of  the  five  thousand.) 

3.  Explain  what  Philip  meant  when  he  said,  ‘‘Show 
us  the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us.” 

4.  Give  evidences  that  Thomas  was  a  man  of  melan¬ 
choly  disposition. 

5.  Tell  the  story  of  the  founding  of  the  Uganda 
Mission. 

6.  Who  were  the  Cananaeans? 

7.  Name  the  twelve  apostles. 

8.  Tell  the  story  of  Washington  at  Valley  Forge. 

9.  Name  one  occasion  when  Jesus  taught  his  dis¬ 
ciples  about  prayer. 

10.  Show  that  the  disciples  of  Jesus  learned  to  pray 
like  their  Teacher. 


Bibee  Verses 


Rom.  10:13;  15:30;  Phil.  4:6;  Col.  4:2;  Heb.  11:6; 
James  1 :5,  6,  7 ;  4 :8 ;  5  :13 ;  I  Peter  3  :7. 


Study  Topics 

1.  Things  for  Which  Jesus  Urged  his  Disciples  to 
Pray.  Matt.  6:10;  9:38;  26:41. 

2.  Some  Instructions  Concerning  How  to  Pray.  Matt. 
6:5-8. 

3.  People  For  Whom  We  Should  Pray.  Matt.  5: 
43-48. 

4.  Some  of  the  Prayers  of  Jesus.  I.  A  Prayer  of  Joy 
and  Thanksgiving.  Luke  10:17-24. 

5.  Some  of  the  Prayers  of  Jesus.  H.  The  Interces¬ 
sory  Prayer  in  the  Upper  Room.  John,  ch.  17. 

6.  Some  of  the  Prayers  of  Jesus.  III.  Sentence 
Prayers  in  the  Garden.  Matt.  26:36-46. 

7.  Prayer  in  the  Early  Church.  Acts  1:14,  24;  4:23- 
31;  12:5. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  129 

8.  Occasions  When  Jesus  Spent  All  Night  in  Prayer. 
Matt.  14:23;  Luke  6:12;  9:28. 

9.  The  Importance  of  Prayer  in  the  Life  of  a  Young 
Christian.  (To  be  taken  by  the  pastor  or  superinten¬ 
dent.) 

10.  Ungranted  Petitions.  Why  God  Cannot  Give  Us 
All  We  Ask.  Cor.  12:7-10. 

Putting  thk  Truths  ot  th^  Le^sson  Into  Practice 

Consider  the  organization  of  a  Quiet  Hour  Band  within 
the  class.  Write  to  the  United  Society  of  Christian 
Endeavor,  Boston,  Massachusetts,  for  literature  on  the 
subject.  Open  the  Week  Day  and  Sunday  Sessions  of 
the  class  with  prayer,  encouraging  all  to  take  part.  Dis¬ 
cuss  the  Prayer  Calendar  of  the  denomination  and  have 
it  used  in  the  prayer  services  of  the  pupils  in  the  class 
and  in  their  homes.  Make  a  prayer  list  of  persons  and 
causes  for  which  members  of  the  class  are  to  pray. 


CHAPTER  XI 

JUDAS,  THE  FAILURE  OF  THE  TWELVE 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

OVERCOME  OF  EVIL 
John  6:60-71;  12:1-8 

We  have  studied  the  New  Testament  accounts  which 
tell  us  about  eleven  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus.  We  have 
noted  that  in  spite  of  serious  faults  of  character  and 
many  stumblings  they  all  turned  out  well.  They  all 
reached  the  place  where  they  lost  sight  of  low  and  selfish 
ambitions  in  their  zeal  to  bring  their  fellow  men  to  know 
the  Teacher  who  had  done  so  much  for  them.  But 
there  was  one  of  the  Twelve  who  was  not  victorious  in 
that  conflict  with  evil  which  we  must  all  wage.  He  was 
overcome  with  evil.  He  failed  disastrously.  If  the  life 
of  Judas  has  nothing  of  inspiration,  it  has  much  of 
warning. 

The  Early  Hopes  of  Judas.  The  fact  that  Jesus  chose 
Judas  as  a  disciple  makes  us  certain  that  there  were 
great  possibilities  in  the  man.  He  might  have  be¬ 
come  as  great  and  useful  as  the  other  disciples ; 
that  he  did  not  was  his  own  fault.  Judas,  of  course, 
came  into  the  company  of  the  disciples  expecting  Jesus 
to  overthrow  the  Roman  rule  and  set  up  a  Hebrew 
kingdom.  This  is  nothing  against  him,  for  all  the  other 
disciples,  and  the  whole  Jewish  people  for  that  matter, 
expected  that  the  Messiah  would  do  this  very  thing. 
Judas  was  partly  patriotic  in  his  desires,  partly  selfish. 
He  longed  to  have  his  nation  free  and  he  had  dreams 
of  himself  as  an  official  of  prominence  in  the  great  king¬ 
dom  which  the  Messiah  should  establish. 

Unresponsive  to  the  Character  and  the  Ideals  of 
Jesus.  Wherein,  then,  did  Judas  differ  from  the  other 
eleven  disciples?  Why  did  he  alone  of  the  Twelve  grad¬ 
ually  slide  down  to  spiritual  disaster  while  they  strug¬ 
gled  upward  to  heights  of  sublime  and  Christlike  char- 


130 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  131 


acter?  The  difference  between  Judas  and  the  other 
disciples  evidently  lay  in  this:  Judas  was  unresponsive 
to  the  personality  and  the  ideals  of  Jesus,  whereas  the 
others  gradually  came  to  appreciate  the  grandeur  and 
purity  of  the  character  of  Jesus  and  to  have  an  increas¬ 
ing  conception  of  the  value  of  the  Kingdom  he  was 
trying  to  establish. 

A  Treasurer  Who  Betrayed  His  Trust.  It  is  well  for 
us  to  remember  that  Judas  betrayed  his  trust  long  before 
he  betrayed*  Jesus  into  the  .hands  of  the  chief  priests. 
His  fall  was  not  a  sudden  collapse  of  character,  but  a 
gradual  yielding  to  evil.  Jesus  and  the  others  had  shown 
their  confidence  in  Judas  by  making  him  treasurer  of 
the  little  company.  To  betray  that  confidence  was  cer¬ 
tainly  a  most  unworthy  act.  Perhaps  Judas  began,  as 
most  embezzlers  do,  by  some  very  slight  irregularities 
in  his  accounts.  Perhaps  he  excused  himself  for  using 
for  his  own  benefit  just  a  little  of  the  money  intrusted 
to  him  by  saying  to  himself  that  he  had  lost  a  great  deal 
by  becoming  a  disciple  of  Jesus  and  that  it  was  only 
right  that  he  should  have  something  in  return.  Grad¬ 
ually,  as  he  saw  Jesus  making  no  move  toward  setting 
up  a  kingdom  of  the  kind  he  expected,  he  came  to  con¬ 
sider  himself  a  much  abused  man.  To  steal  from  the 
scanty  store  of  the  little  company  became  a  fixed  habit 
with  him.  Unconfessed  sin  is  a  great  hindrance  to 
spiritual  progress.  So  it  happened  that  while  the  other 
disciples  were  struggling  upward,  Judas  was  sliding 
downward.  He  could  not  appreciate  the  character  of 
Jesus  while  he  was  living  the  life  of  an  embezzler. 

The  Turning  Point  in  the  Life  of  Judas.  John  6:60-71. 
If  Judas  had  repented  of  his  evil  deeds  and  confessed 
his  thefts,  all  might  have  been  well  with  him.  His  deeds 
were  bad,  but  scarcely  worse  than  the  act  of  Peter  in 
denying  his  Lord  with  oaths.  But  Judas  kept  his  sins 
secret,  imagining  that  no  one  knew  about  them.  In  this 
he  was  mistaken,  for  John  tells  us  that  Jesus  knew  of 
the  treachery  of  Judas,  '‘from  the  beginning,”  which 
means  that,  at  least  from  a  time  early  in  his  ministry, 
Jesus  knew  what  was  going  on  in  the  heart  of  Judas. 

There  came  a  time  when  the  evil  in  the  heart  of  Judas 


132  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


began  to  get  full  mastery.  That  time  came  just  after  the 
multitudes  had  conspired  to  take  Jesus  and  make  him 
king  by  force.  Jesus  sent  his  disciples  away  in  a  boat, 
then  met  the  multitudes  alone  and  sent  them  to  their 
homes.  This  was  a  turning  point  in  the  career  of  Jesus. 
The  multitudes,  since  Jesus  would  not  be  the  kind  of 
king  they  wished  him  to  be,  began  to  fall  away.  This 
caused  concern  among  the  disciples.  They  could  not 
yet  understand  why  their  Master  should  refuse  what 
seemed  to  them  to  be  a  favorable  opportunity  for  mak¬ 
ing  himself  king.  They  were  not  pleased  with  what 
Jesus  said  to  the  multitudes.  They  “murmured”  at  the 
“hard  saying”  which  Jesus  had  uttered. 

That  Judas  was  a  leader  in  this  murmuring  is  shown 
by  the  words  of  Jesus  to  his  disciples  when  he  said: 
“Doth  this  cause  you  to  stumble?  What  then  if  ye 
should  behold  the  Son  of  man  ascending  where  he  was 
before?  It  is  the  spirit  that  giveth  life;  the  flesh  prof- 
iteth  nothing:  the  words  that  I  have  spoken  unto  you 
are  spirit,  and  are  life.  But  there  are  some  of  you  that 
believe  not.” 

There  came  a  time  when  Jesus  put  the  question  directly 
to  his  twelve  disciples.  Many  who  had  been  followers 
of  Jesus  were  forsaking  him.  Jesus  said  to  the  twelve, 
“Would  ye  also  go  away?”  To  his  everlasting  honor 
Peter  replied,  “Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go?  thou  hast 
the  words  of  enternal  life.  And  we  have  believed  and 
know  that  thou  art  the  Holy  One  of  God.”  Peter  spoke 
for  all  the  disciples  save  one.  To  eleven  of  the  Twelve, 
the  words  of  Jesus  were  words  of  eternal  life.  But 
there  was  one  of  the  Twelve  who  did  not  share  in  this 
noble  estimate  of  the  person  and  teachings  of  Jesus. 
Judas  said  nothing,  so  far  as  we  are  told,  but  Jesus  knew 
what  was  in  the  heart  of  his  disciple.  Perhaps  he  could 
read  it  perfectly  in  his  face.  Jesus  said  to  his  disciples, 
“Did  not  I  choose  you  the  twelve,  and  one  of  you  is  a 
devil 

From  that  time  Judas,  while  he  remained  among  the 
disciples,  was  not  really  one  of  them.  He  was  there 
because  he  wished  to  get  as  much  for  himself  as  he 
could  out  of  what  he  regarded  as  the  shipwreck  of  the 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  133 


undertaking  in  which  they  had  been  engaged.  He  could 
still  act  as  treasurer  and  in  part  reimburse  himself  for 
the  losses  which  he  had  suffered.  Perhaps  the  thoughts 
of  Judas  went  no  further  than  this  for  the  time  being, 
but  evil  is  ever  pushing  its  victims  nearer  and  nearer  to 
the  precipice  and  the  soul  of  Judas  was  in  deadly  peril. 

Nearing  the  Abyss.  John  12:1-8.  A  week  before  the 
passover  Jesus  came  to  Bethany  where  his  friends  Mary, 
Martha,  and  Lazarus  lived.  These  friends  made  a  sup¬ 
per  for  Jesus  and  his  disciples  in  honor  of  the  event. 
While  Jesus  and  his  disciples  were  reclining  at  the  table, 
Mary  came  with  an  alabaster  box  of  precious  perfume 
and,  breaking  it,  poured  its  contents  on  the  feet  of  Jesus. 

Judas  Iscariot  was  angry  at  Mary  for,  as  he  con¬ 
sidered  it,  wasting  the  perfume.  He  said,  “Why  was 
not  this  ointment  sold  for  three  hundred  shillings,  and 
given  to  the  poor?”  Other  disciples  joined  in  the  fault¬ 
finding  and  poor  Mary  stood  confused  and  troubled  before 
the  group  of  men.  Jesus,  however,  took  her  part  and 
rebuked  his  disciples  for  their  censures.  He  told  them 
that  they  had  the  poor  always  with  them  and  that  they 
could  do  them  good  at  any  time  but  that  he  would  not 
always  be  with  them.  He  said  that  Mary  had  wrought 
a  good  work  upon  him  and  that  she  had  anointed  his 
body  for  its  burial.  Matt.  26:11,  12. 

This  mild  and  well-deserved  reproof  awoke  bitter  re¬ 
sentment  in  the  heart  of  Judas.  He  had  tried  to  stifle 
conscience  by  pitying  himself  and  by  brooding  over 
imagined  wrongs.  He  was  in  a  highly  irritable  state. 
He  thought  of  a  plan  whereby  he  might  get  gain  for 
himself  and  vengeance  for  this  imagined  offense.  Leav¬ 
ing  the  humble  home  in  Bethany,  he  directed  his  steps 
toward  the  palace  of  the  high  priest. 

“A  Root  of*  Ati^  Kinds  of  Evid” 

Love  of  money  was,  at  least  in  part,  the  cause  of  the 
downfall  of  Judas.  “No  man  can  serve  two  masters: 
for  either  he  will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other;  or 
else  he  will  hold  to  one,  and  despise  the  other.  Ye 
cannoL  serve  God  and  mammon.”  Jesus  had  uttered 


134  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


these  words  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Judas  must 
have  heard  them,  for  he  was  a  disciple  at  the  time  and 
the  disciples  were  present.  But  Judas  proved  to  be  one 
of  those  who  heard  the  words  of  Jesus  and  did  them 
not;  he  built  his  house  on  the  sand.  He  tried  to  serve 
God  and  mammon  at  the  same  time  and  ended  by  hold¬ 
ing  to  mammon  and  rejecting  God. 

Devotion  to  money  and  the  material  values  which 
money  represents  is  one  of  the  pitfalls  of  life.  How  such 
a  devotion  belittles  the  soul  was  understood  even  by 
the  North  American  Indians  as  you  will  see  from  the 
story  which  they  tell  of  the  woodpecker  and  why  he 
pecks  on  wood. 

An  Indian  hunter  was  once  lost  in  the  forest.  He 
wandered  on  for  days  but  could  find  nothing  to  eat. 
At  last  he  saw  a  tepee  through  the  trees  and,  hastening 
to  it,  found  an  Indian  woman  making  cakes  with  Indian 
corn.  He  asked  for  one  of  the  cakes,  but  the  woman 
refused.  Then  he  asked  if  he  might  not  have  meal  with 
which  to  make  himself  a  little  bread.  The  woman  put 
both  hands  into  the  vessel  of  meal,  but  when  she  saw 
the  golden  grains  she  said,  “I  will  not  give  so  much,” 
so  she  kept  only  one  handful,  letting  the  rest  fall  back 
into  the  vessel.  Then  she  said,  '‘Even  this  is  more  than 
I  can  spare.”  So  she  put  back  half  of  what  she  held  in 
her  one  hand.  She  kept  putting  the  meal  back  into  the 
vessel,  little  by  little.  At  last  she  said  to  the  starving 
Indian,  “I  will  give  you  none  at  all,”  and  she  threw  the 
few  remaining  grains  back  into  the  vessel. 

Now  all  this  time  a  woiiderful  change  was  taking  place 
in  the  woman’s  appearance.  When  she  first  divided 
her  double  handful,  putting  half  of  the  meal  back,  she 
shrank  to  one  half  of  her  former  size.  And  so  she  con¬ 
tinued  to  grow  smaller  with  every  return  of  meal  to  the 
vessel.  At  last  she  became  very  small,  indeed,  and  when 
she  put  the  last  of  the  meal  back  in  the  vessel,  she 
changed  into  a  small  bird.  She  flew  up  into  a  tree  where 
she  has  ever  since  done  nothing  but  search  for  meal  by 
pecking  on  dead  limbs,  but  she  finds  nothing  but  a  dust 
of  dry  wood.  This,  say  the  Indians,  is  the  reason  the 
woodpecker  pecks  on  wood. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  135 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

A  REPENTANCE  NOT  UNTO  LIFE 

Matt  26:14-16,  47-50;  27:3-10;  John  13:21-30 

Sin  is  a  treacherous  enemy.  It  blinds  the  eyes  so  com¬ 
pletely  that  the  distinction  between  right  and  wrong  is 
completely  obliterated  for  the  time  being.  Then  it  sud¬ 
denly  dissolves  its  mists,  revealing  the  truth,  and  leaves 
the  soul  of  its  victim  to  a  blank  despair.  Jesus  said, 
“Every  one  that  committeth  sin  is  the  bondservant  of 
sin,’"  and  no  slave  ever  had  a  more  cruel  master.  We 
shall  have  evidence  of  the  deceitfulness  of  sin  as  we 
continue  the  story  of  Judas. 

The  Bargain  with  the  Priests.  Matt.  26:14-16.  Smart¬ 
ing  under  the  reproof  of  Jesus,  Judas  went  directly  to 
the  palace  of  the  high  priest.  He  knew  that  the  leaders 
were  very  anxious  to  seize  Jesus,  if  it  could  be  done  at 
a  time  when  the  multitudes  would  not  be  aroused.  The 
priests  knew  that  the  majority  of  the  people  were  friendly 
to  Jesus  and  were  likely  to  interfere  if  an  attempt  were 
made  to  put  Jesus  to  death.  They  dreaded  anything  in 
the  nature  of  a  riot  among  the  people,  for  that  meant 
interference  by  the  Roman  soldiers.  That  Judas  saw  in 
the  situation  what  he  thought  might  be  an  opportunity 
to  get  considerable  gain  for  himself  is  shown  by  his 
shameful  question  to  the  Jewish  leaders :  “What  are  ye 
willing  to  give  me,  and  I  will  deliver  him  unto  you?” 
That  question  made  the  priests  and  Pharisees  glad.  They 
were  glad  to  think  that  at  least  one  of  the  disciples  of 
Jesus  had  turned  traitor,  glad  to  think  that  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  was  at  hand  for  them  to  seize  Jesus  at  a  favor¬ 
able  time.  They  were  so  eager  to  bind  the  bargain  that 
they  forthwith  weighed  out  thirty  pieces  of  silver  to 
Judas. 

Judas  went  back  and  joined  the  company  of  the 
apostles.  The  success  of  his  plan  depended  upon  his 
gaining  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  future  movements 
of  Jesus  to  enable  him  to  seize  a  favorable  opportunity 
to  betray  him  into  the  hands  of  the  priests.  So  he  lis¬ 
tened  and  watched.  He  heard  about  the  plans  for  the 


136  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


passover  meal  in  the  upper  room.  He  knew  that,  espe¬ 
cially  in  times  of  danger  and  stress,  Jesus  often  spent  a 
part  or  the  whole  of  the  night  in  prayer.  He  knew  of 
a  quiet  garden  on  the  slopes  of  the  Mount  of  Olives 
and  remembered  that  Jesus  often  went  there  to  pray. 
We  cannot  excuse  the  crime  of  Judas  on  the  grounds 
that  it  was  due  to  a  sudden  impulse.  For  a  week  he 
watched  and  plotted.  Probably  he  was  in  secret  com¬ 
munication  with  the  priests  for  he  was  now  their  paid 
representative. 

‘‘And  It  Was  Night.”  John  13:21-30.  Judas  came  to 
the  upper  room  meeting.  It  may  be  that  he  had  not  yet 
determined  exactly  where  Jesus  would  be  after  the  meet¬ 
ing  and  wished  to  find  out.  As  they  sat  at  supper,  Jesus 
told  the  disciples  that  one  of  their  own  number  was 
about  to  betray  him  into  the  hands  of  the  priests  and 
Pharisees.  One  by  one  the  disciples  began  to  say  to 
him,  “Is  it  I,  Lord?”  Judas,  too,  asked  the  question  and 
Jesus  told  him  that  he  was  the  one.  Perhaps  the  other 
disciples  did  not  hear  what  Jesus  said  to  Judas,  for  they 
continued  to  make  inquiry  as  to  who  it  was  that  would 
betray  their  Teacher. 

Peter  was  especially  persistent  in  his  efforts  to  find 
out  who  the  traitor  was.  He  managed  to  get  the  atten¬ 
tion  of  John  who  was  next  to  Jesus  at  the  table  and  he 
asked  John  to  find  out  who  the  traitor  might  be.  John 
leaned  over  near  Jesus  and  asked,  “Lord,  who  is  it?” 
Jesus  told  him  that  he  would  dip  a  piece  of  bread  in  the 
bowl  and  give  it  to  the  one  who  was  about  to  betray 
him.  Then  he  gave  the  bread  to  Judas,  saying  to  him, 
“What  thou  doest,  do  quickly.”  No  one  at  the  table 
knew  what  John  had  said  to  Jesus  and  they  did  not  know 
the  significance  of  the  act  of  Jesus  in  giving  the  bread 
to  Judas.  They  heard  Jesus’  words  to  Judas,  but  thought 
that  he  was  asking  Judas,  since  he  was  the  treasurer, 
to  go  and  purchase  something  needed  for  the  feast,  or 
to  give  something  to  the  poor.  It  was  a  perilous  mo¬ 
ment.  If  Peter  and  the  other  disciples  had  known  that 
Judas  had  taken  money  from  the  priests  and  was  about 
to  direct  them  to  the  place  where  they  could  seize  Jesus, 
what  would  have  happened?  We  know  that  Jesus  saw 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  137 


the  danger  and  that  he  was  not  thinking  of  his  own 
safety  when  he  advised  Judas  to  withdraw  at  once  from 
the  room. 

Perhaps  Judas  had  learned  that  Jesus  would  be  in  the 
Garden  on  Olivet  along  toward  midnight  and  was  glad 
of  an  excuse  to  hurry  away  to  the  priests  who  were 
waiting  impatiently  for  some  word  from  him.  Perhaps  he 
felt,  too,  the  growing  peril  of  his  situation.  He  now 
knew  that  Jesus  understood  his  plans  and  he  was  con¬ 
scious  of  suspicious  glances  cast  at  him  by  some  of  his 
fellow  disciples.  They  must  have  known  him  well 
enough,  especially  since  the  incident  in  the  home  at  Beth¬ 
any,  to  suspect  that  he  might  be  the  traitor.  So  Judas 
made  haste  to  leave.  John  says  that  he  “went  out 
straightway,”  which  means  that  he  left  at  once  and  in 
some  haste.  Then  John  adds  the  significant  phrase, 
“and  it  was  night.” 

The  Betrayal.  Matt.  26:47-50.  Judas  had  planned  the 
matter  with  utmost  detail.  He  had  told  the  priests  and 
officers  that  when  they  found  Jesus  and  the  disciples  in 
the  Garden,  he  would  go  up  to  Jesus  and  salute  him  and 
kiss  him.  At  this  sign  the  officers  were  to  seize  Jesus 
and  hurry  him  away  for  trial.  And  so  the  plan  was  car¬ 
ried  out.  It  was  a  time  of  the  full  moon,  but  it  may  have 
been  rather  dark  under  the  shadows  of  the  olive  trees. 
Judas,  however,  could  recognize  Jesus,  and  coming  up 
to  him  he  said,  “Hail,  Rabbi,”  and  kissed  him.  Jesus, 
thinking  always  of  the  safety  of  others,  said,  “Friend,  do 
that  for  which  thou  art  come.”  Peter  drew  his  sword 
and  a  fight  had  already  begun,  but  Jesus  was  master 
of  the  occasion.  Peter  would  have  fought  to  the  death 
and  so  would  the  others,  but  Jesus  would  not  permit  it. 
So  his  disciples  fled  and  Jesus  was  led  away  for  an 
examination  before  the  Jewish  leaders. 

The  Remorse  of  Judas.  Matt.  27 :3-10.  It  was  not 
long  before  a  fearful  reaction  began  to  make  itself  felt 
in  the  heart  of  Judas.  He  hung  about  the  outskirts  of 
the  crowd  gathered  at  the  palace  of  the  high  priests. 
He  heard  the  false  witnesses  and  saw  the  cruel  blow 
which  Jesus  received  from  the  officer  as  he  stood  before 
the  court.  He  heard  the  crafty  question  of  Caiaphas 


138  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


and  the  burst  of  uproarious  condemnation  which  fol¬ 
lowed  Jesus’  declaration  that  he  was  the  Son  of  God. 
He  saw  them  spitting  on  Jesus  and  striking  him  with 
their  hands.  It  was  more  than  Judas  could  stand.  He 
had  been  too  long  in  the  company  of  Jesus  to  be  utterly 
hardened  like  the  Pharisees  and  priests.  He  fled  from 
the  court  to  seek  the  priests  who  had  given  him  the 
thirty  pieces  of  silver. 

“I  Have  Sinned  in  That  I  Betrayed  Innocent  Blood.” 

He  found  the  priests  and  asked  them  to  take  back  the 
silver  they  had  given  him.  Awful  remorse  sounds 
through  his  statement  to  his  partners  in  crime,  “I  have 
sinned  in  that  I  betrayed  innocent  blood.”  These  proud 
leaders  of  the  Jewish  church  despised  the  poor  weakling 
who  had  been  their  tool  and  who  now  felt  remorse  for 
his  part  in  the  crime  which  had  been  committed.  They 
would  neither  receive  the  money  nor  admit  that  they 
had  given  it  to  him.  They  answered  him  coldly,  “What 
is  that  to  us?  see  thou  to  it.”  Casting  the  silver  coins 
upon  the  pavement  of  the  sanctuary,  Judas  went  out  and 
hanged  himself. 

Robbing  the  Soue  to  Enearge  the  Bank  Account 

Louis  Paul  joined  the  Church  at  the  age  of  sixteen. 
He  was  a  fine,  manly  lad  and  faithful  in  the  work  of  the 
Christian  Endeavor  Society  and  the  Sunday  school.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-one  he  became  the  teacher  of  a  large 
class.  He  spent  much  time  on  his  work  with  this  class 
of  boys.  He  invited  them  frequently  to  his  home  and 
carried  on  a  club  where  they  gathered  one  night  in  the 
week. 

At  about  this  time  Louis  started  out  in  business  for 
himself.  Pie  and  another  young  man  rented  a  building 
and  started  a  shop  for  repairing  automobiles.  The  un¬ 
dertaking  proved  to  be  a  business  success.  The  young 
partners  added  a  sales  department  and  began  to  make 
considerable  money  on  the  automobiles  they  sold.  After 
a  time  they  could  hire  men  to  do  the  repairing  and  give 
all  their  time  to  other  details  of  the  business.  In  a  year 
or  so  they  were  selling  many  automobiles  every  week 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  139 


and  making  more  money  out  of  the  business  than  they 
had  ever  thought  possible. 

But  what  of  the  work  Louis  was  doing  in  the  church  ? 
Well,  it  was  not  prospering.  In  fact  it  was  far  from 
being  in  a  satisfactory  condition.  Louis  no  longer  had 
time  to  give  to  his  boys.  He  had  not  invited  them  to 
his  home  for  more  than  a  year  and  the  boys’  club  had 
gone  out  of  existence.  There  was  still  a  Sunday-school 
class,  but  it  had  only  about  half  as  many  members  as  it 
once  had  had.  Sometimes  Louis  was  there,  but  quite  often 
he  was  not.  So  there  were  a  good  many  Sundays  when 
the  class  had  a  substitute  teacher,  or  was  placed  with 
some  other  class.  Even  when  Louis  got  to  the  class,  he 
had  made  little  or  no  preparation  to  teach  the  lesson. 
He  would  come  in  a  few  minutes  before  the  time  for  the 
closing  of  the  opening  service  of  the  school  and  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  class  period.  He  would  find  a  quarterly 
and  try  to  get  something  in  his  mind  to  give  the  boys 
before  the  recitation  began.  In  fact,  Louis  was  finding 
that  in  order  to  make  his  automobile  business  as  large 
a  success  as  he  wished,  he  was  compelled  to  give  it  so 
much  time  and  thought  that  he  had  little  of  either  for 
his  Sunday-school  work. 

Now  it  is  a  law  of  our  beings  that  we  come  to  dislike 
things  which  we  do  in  a  careless  way.  The  poor  result 
of  such  effort  turns  one,  in  time,  against  the  work  itself. 
So  it  happened  that  although  Louis  had  once  loved 
Sunday-school  work,  he  was  now  caring  much  less  for 
it.  He  finally  went  to  his  pastor  and  told  him  that  he 
wished  to  give  up  the  class.  He  did  not  have  time  to 
do  the  work  properly,  he  said,  and  he  no  longer  enjoyed 
it  as  he  once  did.  He  was  growing  too  old,  he  thought, 
to  be  a  successful  teacher  of  boys. 

His  pastor  was  a  man  of  wisdom  and  had  long  ago 
detected  the  cause  of  the  decline  in  that  particular  class. 
He  urged  Louis  to  give  himself  fully,  once  more,  to  the 
work  which  he  had  once  so  thoroughly  enjoyed.  He 
tried  to  point  out  to  the  young  man  that  he  ought  to  do 
it,  for  the  sake  of  the  boys  and  for  his  own  sake.  But 
Louis  thought  that  it  would  be  a  fine  thing  to  be  rid  of 
the  responsibility  of  the  class;  then  he  could  give  more 


140  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


attention  to  the  work  of  his  shop  which  was  especially 
heavy  on  Sundays.  He  could  go  to  church  in  the 
evening,  he  said,  which  would  be  just  as  well. 

About  this  time  the  automobile  dealers  of  the  town 
began  to  have  auto-racing  on  Sunday.  Louis’  partner 
insisted  that  they  should  enter  their  make  of  cars  so  that 
they  could  thus  advertise  them  and  make  larger  sales. 
So  it  happened  that  Louis  fell  into  the  habit  of  attending 
the  auto  races  on  Sunday.  For  a  while  he  went  to  church 
in  the  evening,  but  became  more  and  more  irregular  and 
finally  ceased  to  attend  at  all.  Years  went  by  and  he 
built  up  a  very  large  business.  He  became  a  man  of 
wealth.  But  there  is  something  gone  out  of  his  life  and 
it  is  something  that  he  cannot  buy  for  money.  He 
sometimes  wonders  whether  he  has  not  purchased 
business  success  at  too  high  a  price. 


The  Lesson  Prayer 

Our  Father  in  heaven,  we  pray  that  we  may  have  the 
right  ideas  about  money  and  the  values  which  money 
represents.  Teach  us  how  to  use  our  lives  and  all  that 
we  possess  in  such  a  way  as  to  do  the  most  good  in  the 
world.  Help  us  to  think  of  our  time  and  our  strength 
and  our  possessions  as  gifts  from  thee,  values  which  we 
hold  in  trust  for  a  little  time  and  for  which  we  must 
render  an  account.  Give  to  us  a  just  appreciation  of 
spiritual  values  as  compared  with  material  values. 
Grant  that  none  of  us  may  be  like  the  young  man  of 
whom  we  have  heard  in  the  story  of  this  lesson,  who 
sold  the  birthright  of  his  soul  for  a  mess  of  pottage. 
Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“Sun  of  My  Soul,  Thou  Saviour  Dear.”  “Studies  of 
Familiar  Hymns,”  page  25. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  141 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

THE  RIGHT  USE  OF  MONEY 
Matt.  6:19-24;  Luke  12:29-34 

Jesus  began  very  early  to  teach  his  disciples  the  right 
attitude  toward  money  and  toward  the  values  which 
money  represents.  Had  Judas  heeded  these  lessons  of 
Jesus  the  story  of  his  life  would  have  been  different. 
Jesus  spoke  on  this  subject  early  in  his  ministry  because 
it  is  a  matter  of  much  importance.  He  sought  to  teach 
his  disciples  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  the  thing  of 
greatest  value.  It  is  the  treasure  hid  in  the  field  and 
the  pearl  of  great  price. 

In  establishing  their  habits  regarding  money,  young 
people  should  avoid  two  extremes.  They  must  not  be¬ 
come  spendthrifts.  They  are  not  to  be  like  the  prodigal 
son  who  “wasted  his  substance  with  riotous  living.” 
Neither  ought  they  to  develop  into  servants  of  mammon 
who  make  money  and  the  value  it  represents  the  goal  of 
all  their  striving.  Jesus  taught  his  disciples  to  avoid 
both  of  these  errors.  He  was  not  willing  that  even  the 
fragments  of  the  bread  and  the  fish  be  wasted  after  he 
had  fed  the  five  thousand.  He  frequently  warned  his 
followers  of  the  dangers  which  lay  in  the  way  of  the 
person  who  was  anxious  for  wordly  gain. 

Some  Truths  from  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

If  Judas  had  loved  Jesus  more,  he  would  have  loved 
money  less.  His  failure  began  in  his  lack  of  loving  con¬ 
fidence  in  his  Teacher. 

Judas  began  with  small  and  secret  sins.  He  took  a 
little  money  which  had  been  intrusted  to  him  and  used 
it  for  himself.  Such  sins  cannot  be  hidden  because  in 
time  they  grow  so  large  that  they  cannot  be  covered. 
There  is  a  large  difference  between  Judas  stealing  a  few 
pennies  from  the  treasury  and  Judas  selling  his  Lord 
for  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  but  the  two  are  one  in  kind 
and,  moreover,  the  latter  grew  out  of  the  former. 


142  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


The  effect  of  the  selfish  hoarding  of  property  is  so 
noticeable  that  even  savages,  like  the  North  American 
Indians,  have  understood  it. 

Business  success  is  highly  desirable  but  it  may  be 
purchased  at  so  great  a  price  that  we  make  a  very  bad 
bargain. 

Rotew  Questions 

1.  What  do  you  believe  led  Judas  to  become  a 
disciple  of  Jesus? 

2.  What  were  the  underlying  causes  of  the  failure  of 
Judas? 

3.  Show  that  the  decline  of  Judas  was  gradual. 

4.  Tell  of  the  turning  point  in  the  career  of  Judas. 

5.  Tell  of  the  incident  in  the  home  at  Bethany  when 
Jesus  was  anointed  by  Mary. 

6.  Name  some  evils  which  spring  from  the  love  of 
money. 

7.  Why  were  the  priests  glad  when  Judas  came  to 
them  ? 

8.  Tell  ot  the  events  in  the  upper  room  which  pre¬ 
ceded  the  withdrawal  of  Judas. 

9.  Did  Judas  truly  repent?  Give  reasons  for  your 
answer. 

10.  Show  how  it  is  possible  to  purchase  business 
success  at  too  high  a  price. 

Bibee  Verses 

Deut.  8:11-17;  Prov.  3:4;  15:17;  Matt.  13:22;  Luke 
16:11;  II  Cor.  8:9;  I  Tim.  6:17-19;  James  2:5;  I  John 
3:17;  Rev.  3:17,18. 


Study  Topics 

1.  Jesus’  Story  About  a  Foolish  Rich  Man.  Luke 
12:13-21. 

2.  A  Young  Man  Whose  Wealth  Kept  Him  from 
Becoming  a  Disciple.  Mark  10:17-22. 

3.  Some  of  the  Ways  in  Which  We  Can  Do  Good 
with  Our  Money.  Luke  8:1-3;  Acts  4:36. 

4.  The  Folly  of  Spendthrift  Habits.  Luke  15:11-16. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  143 


5.  The  Benevolent  Budget  of  Our  Denomination. 
(For  pastor  or  adult  person.) 

6.  The  Transformation  of  Scrooge.  (A  brief  review 
of  “The  Christmas  Carol,”  by  Dickens.) 

7.  The  Tenth  Legion.  (Write  for  information  to 
United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  Boston,  Massa¬ 
chusetts,  for  information.) 

8.  What  Portion  of  a  Christian’s  Income  Ought  to 
Be  Given  for  the  Support  of  the  Church  and  Other  G^od 
Causes  ? 

9.  Are  there  Limits  to  the  Profits  Which  a  Christian 
can  Conscientiously  Receive  from  Business? 

10.  Old  Testament  Business  Men  Who  Paid  Too  Dear 
for  Financial  Gain.  Amos  8:4-10. 

Putting  the;  Truths  or  the;  Lesson  Into  Practice 

Plan  the  organization  of  a  Tenth  Legion  among  the 
members  of  the  class.  Have  a  self-denial  week,  the  pro¬ 
ceeds  to  go  into  the  treasury  of  the  class  and  to  be  used 
for  benevolent  purposes.  Make  a  budget  of  benevolences 
for  the  class,  with  names  of  causes  to  be  helped  and 
amount  to  be  raised.  Have  members  of  the  class  present 
statements  on  the  subject,  “How  I  Spend  a  Dollar”  (so 
many  cents  for  recreation,  books,  charity,  etc.,  all  based 
on  careful  estimates).  Discuss  the  question  of  how  a 
Christian  boy  or  girl  ought  to  spend  a  dollar. 


CHAPTER  XII 

JOHN  MARK,  WHO  MADE  GOOD  IN  HIS 
SECOND  CHANCE 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

A  LAD  WHO  WAS  AMONG  THE  FOLLOWERS  OF 

JESUS 

Mark  14:51,  52;  Acts  12:11-17;  13:4-14;  15:36-40;  Col. 

4:10,  11 

Jesus  took  little  children  into  his  arms  and  blessed 
them.  After  his  triumphal  entry  and  the  driving  of  the 
money  changers  from  the  Temple,  the  boys  and  girls 
kept  shouting  a  welcome  to  Jesus  as  the  Messianic  King. 
‘‘Hosanna  to  the  son  of  David,”  they  cried  over  and  over 
until  the  Jewish  rabbis  were  sorely  distressed  and  ap¬ 
pealed  to  Jesus.  They  wished  him  to  rebuke  the  chil¬ 
dren  and  to  command  them  to  keep  still,  but  Jesus 
replied  that  if  these  young  people  should  hold  their  peace, 
the  very  stones  would  cry  out.  It  would  be  interesting 
to  know  the  after-life  of  these  children  and  youths  who 
thus  came  into  personal  contact  with  Jesus  in  their 
early  years.  How  many  of  them  became,  in  manhood 
and  womanhood,  the  heroic  martyrs  of  the  early  church, 
we  shall  never  know.  The  historians  of  the  day  did  not 
pay  much  heed  to  matters  pertaining  to  childhood  and 
youth,  so  their  meager  accounts  give  us  little  informa¬ 
tion  on  the  subject.  The  Scriptures,  however,  give  us 
glimpses  of  a  certain  young  man  who  may  have  been  a 
boy  follower  and  admirer  of  Jesus.  In  this  lesson  we 
are  to  learn  what  we  can  of  a  lad  who  may  have  been 
among  the  boys  who,  in  the  Temple,  cried  out  “Hosanna 
to  the  son  of  David.” 

A  Young  Man  Who  Followed  Jesus  from  Gethsemane. 

Mark  14:51,  52.  Mark  tells  us  of  a  certain  young  man 
who  v/as  with  Jesus  in  Gethsemane  and  who  followed 
the  band  of  soldiers  who  had  seized  Jesus  and  were 
carrying  him  away  to  the  high  priests.  Whoever  this 

144 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  145 


young  man  was,  he  did  not  follow  Jesus  “afar  off”  as 
Peter  did.  He  came  so  close  to  the  mob  which  was 
carrying  Jesus  away  that  they  laid  hold  on  him.  He 
escaped  only  by  prompt  and  dexterous  action.  Slipping 
out  of  the  garment  on  which  his  captors  had  laid  hold, 
and  which  was  his  only  article  of  clothing,  he  fled  away 
naked.  Mark  is  the  only  New  Testament  writer  who  men¬ 
tions  this  incident  and  many  Bible  scholars  believe  that 
the  young  man  of  whom  this  story  is  told  was  Mark  him¬ 
self.  He  may  have  been  only  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  of 
age,  since  the  Jewish  boy  was  considered  to  be  a  young 
man  after  he  had  attained  the  age  of  about  twelve  years. 

A  Home  Where  the  Early  Christians  Gathered.  Acts 
12:11-17.  Like  many  other  people  of  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  Mark  had  two  names.  His  other  name  was  John. 
His  mother’s  name  was  Mary.  She  seems  to  have  been 
a  woman  of  strong  character  and  she  evidently  owned 
considerable  property.  She  had  a  house  in  Jerusalem 
and  it  became  one  of  the  first  meeting  places  for  the 
followers  of  Jesus.  The  family  kept  at  least  one  servant, 
the  maid  named  Rhoda  who  went  to  the  door  when 
Peter  came  to  the  house  of  Mary  after  his  escape  from 
the  prison.  We  are  not  given  any  information  con¬ 
cerning  Mark’s  father.  Mary  may  have  been  a  widow. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  father  of  Mark  may  have 
been  a  Roman  since  the  name,  Mark,  or  Marcus,  is  a 
Roman  name ;  but  of  this  we  cannot  be  sure. 

In  the  life  of  Mark  we  have  our  first  opportunity  to 
observe  the  influences  of  the  Christian  religion  over  a 
life  from  the  years  of  boyhood  on  into  manhood.  Mark 
was  a  boy  when  Jesus  lived  and  preached.  We  have 
seen  that  it  is  probable  that  he  knew  Jesus  and  was 
among  the  company  which  followed  him.  Mark’s  mother 
was  a  loyal  and  true  follower  of  Jesus.  She  made  her 
home  a  house  of  prayer  for  the  Early  Church.  John 
Mark  is  our  first  example  of  that  group  of  fortunate 
youths  who  are  blessed  with  a  Christian  home  and 
Christian  influences  from  their  earliest  years.  His  early 
life  must  have  been  a  good  deal  like  the  life  of  a  boy 
of  our  day  who  is  blessed  with  a  good  mother  and  a 
Christian  home. 


146  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Mark  Becomes  a  Missionary.  Acts  13:4-12.  When 
we  consider  the  kind  of  home  and  the  kind  of  mother 
Mark  had  we  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  he  grew  up 
to  be  an  idealist.  The  sublime  task  of  winning  the 
world  for  Christ  appealed  to  him.  He  was  ready  to 
undertake  the  great  adventure  for  the  Kingdom  when 
the  opportunity  came.  Barnabas,  the  cousin  of  Mark, 
was  planning  with  Paul  their  first  missionary  journey 
into  the  regions  lying  to  the  west  of  Palestine.  Their 
first  objective  was  the  island  of  Cyprus  lying  in  the 
northeastern  part  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  Mark  was 
chosen  as  one  of  the  company  to  go  on  this  first  journey. 
The  island  of  Cyprus  is  not  usually  visible  from  the 
western  coast  of  Palestine,  but  sometimes  from  the  hills 
about  Antioch,  its  mountain  peaks  may  be  seen  stand¬ 
ing  out  darkly  against  the  red  disk  of  the  sun  as  it 
sinks  into  the  sea.  This  vision  of  “lands  in  the  setting 
sun”  may  have  cheered  the  little  company  of  pioneer 
missionaries  as  they  came  down  to  Antioch  to  begin 
their  sublime  task  of  winning  the  pagan  world  for  the 
religion  of  Jesus. 

Mark  Becomes  a  Quitter.  Acts  13:13,  14;  15:36-40. 
Having  passed  through  the  island  of  Cyprus  from  Sala- 
mis  on  the  east  coast  to  Paphos  on  the  west  coast,  the 
missionaries  set  sail  for  the  town  of  Perga  in  Pamphilia. 
At  this  point  in  the  journey  Mark  left  the  company  and 
returned  to  his  home  in  Jerusalem.  We  do  not  know 
why  he  forsook  the  enterprise.  We  know,  however,  that 
Paul  did  not  approve  of  his  action,  for  when  Paul  and 
Barnabas  were  planning  their  second  missionary  journey 
and  Barnabas  proposed  to  take  Mark  with  them,  Paul 
objected  and  said  that  they  ought  not  to  take  with  them 
one  who  had  been  found  wanting  in  their  previous 
travels.  Barnabas  thought  otherwise  and  as  a  result  of 
these  differences  of  opinion  Paul  and  Barnabas  sepa¬ 
rated.  Barnabas  took  Mark  with  him  and  went  back  to 
Cyprus  and  Paul  took  Silas  as  his  companion  and  went 
to  Syria  and  Cilicia. 

It  may  be  that  Mark’s  enthusiasm  had  grown  cold  be¬ 
cause  of  the  toils  and  hardships  of  a  missionary’s  life. 
He  was  young,  and  youthful  enthusiasm  is  apt  to  kindle 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  147 

quickly  and  die  down  with  equal  rapidity.  Mark  may 
have  been  terrified  by  the  hazardous  undertaking  which 
Paul  proposed.  The  mountain  gorges  back  of  Perga  are 
deep  and  tortuous  and  they  were  then  as  now  the  hiding 
places  of  robber  bands.  Beyond  the  mountains  lay  a  wild 
and  little-known  region  which  Paul  proposed  to  pene¬ 
trate.  Motives  even  less  worthy  than  these  we  have 
mentioned  may  have  stirred  Mark’s  soul.  It  may  be  that 
he  was  jealous  of  the  growing  power  of  Paul.  He  may 
have  thought  that  Paul  was  taking  too  much  authority 
upon  himself  and  ignoring  the  rights  of  his  cousin,  Bar¬ 
nabas,  who  up  to  this  time  seems  to  have  been  the  leader 
of  the  undertaking.  Mark  may  have  differed  with  Paul 
as  to  the  matter  of  receiving  Gentiles  into  the  company 
of  Christian  believers.  Many  of  the  early  Christians 
believed  that  these  Gentile  converts  to  Christianity 
should  observe  the  Jewish  rites  and  ceremonies.  Paul 
became  the  great  defender  of  Christian  liberty  at  a  little 
later  time  in  his  history  and  this  difference  of  opinion 
with  Mark  and  Barnabas  may  have  been  just  a  foretaste 
of  the  conflict  he  was  to  wage  later. 

Mark  Makes  Good.  Col.  4:10,  11;  Philemon  24.  We 
have  reason  to  be  thankful  that  the  kindly  spirit  of  Bar¬ 
nabas  would  not  consent  to  have  young  Mark  cast  aside 
because  he  had  once  failed  under  trying  circumstances. 
Barnabas  insisted  that  Mark  be  given  another  chance 
and  Mark  made  good.  For  some  ten  years  or  so  after  he 
went  to  Cyprus  with  Barnabas  we  lose  sight  of  him ; 
then  we  hear  of  him  as  Paul’s  companion  and  helper  in 
Rome.  He  completely  regained  the  confidence  of  Paul. 
Perhaps  the  influences  of  his  early  life,  his  mother’s 
counsel  and  the  memory  of  his  Christian  home,  helped 
him  to  regain  his  feet  after  he  had  stumbled  on  the 
threshold  of  a  great  and  useful  career. 

.Going  Into  the  Jaws  of  Death  for  the  Sake  of  his 
Friend.  II  Tim.  4 :1-11.  When  Paul  was  an  old  man  and 
facing  certain  death  in  his  dismal  prison  in  Rome,  he 
wrote  a  letter  to  his  young  friend  and  helper,  Timothy. 
He  told  how  many  of  his  helpers  had  forsaken  him  as 
they  saw  certain  death  coming  for  him  and  perhaps  for 
themselves.  Paul  knew  that  Timothy  was  of  a  different 


148  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


type  from  these,  so  he  confidently  urged  his  young  friend 
to  “give  diligence  to  come  shortly.”  Paul  knew  that 
Timothy  would  come.  He  knew  of  one  other  who  would 
likewise  come  even  if  the  coming  should  cost  him  his 
life.  So  Paul  wrote  to  Timothy,  “Take  Mark,  and  bring 
him  with  thee;  for  he  is  useful  to  me  for  ministering.” 

Not  Ashamed  ot  the  Gospee 

A  young  lad  was  persuaded  that  he  ought  to  confess 
his  faith  in  Christ  and  become  a  member  of  the  Church. 
He  knew  that  his  parents  would  rejoice  to  see  him  take 
this  step,  but  he  was  not  sure  how  some  of  his  young 
companions  would  look  at  the  matter.  He  feared  that 
some  of  the  boys  who  were  members  of  the  baseball 
team  with  him  might  think  the  act  of  joining  the  Church 
was  all  right  for  women  and  girls  but  that  only  “sissy” 
boys  would  care  to  become  Church  members.  Finally 
this  lad  determined  that  he  would  not  be  ashamed  of  the 
gospel  and  that  he  would  declare  himself  a  Christian, 
no  matter  what  his  companions  might  say  or  think.  He 
soon  found  that  all  his  fears  as  to  how  his  companions 
would  look  on  the  matter  were  quite  groundless.  One 
of  the  boys  who  was  his  special  friend  in  the  school  said 
to  him,  “You  have  done  the  right  thing  in  joining  the 
Church  and  I  would  do  it  myself  if  I  only  had  the  courage 
that  you  have.”  So  this  young  lad  learned  that  his  act 
of  accepting  Jesus  as  his  Master  brought  him  the  admi¬ 
ration  of  all  people  who  are  really  worth  while. 

Rut  there  are  some  countries  where  the  accepting  of 
Jesus  as  the  world’s  Saviour  does  not  bring  admiration, 
but  contempt  and  persecution.  Dr.  H.  H.  Jessup  has 
written  an  interesting  account  of  a  young  Moslem  called 
Kamil.  Dr.  Jessup  calls  him  a  modern  Paul.  When 
Kamil  became  a  Christian  his  father  and  all  his  otl;er 
relatives  disowned  him.  Thousands  of  his  fellow  coun¬ 
trymen  looked  upon  him  as  a  reprobate  and  felt  it  their 
duty  to  take  his  life  if  the  opportunity  to  do  so  should 
offer  itself. 

Kamil  became  a  missionary  to  the  wild  Mohammedan 
tribes  which  live  in  southern  Arabia  and  who  come  oc- 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  149 


casionally  to  trade  at  the  port  of  Aden.  It  is  probable 
that  his  devotion  to  Christianity  cost  him  his  life,  for 
only  eighteen  months  after  he  had  begun  his  work  his 
life  came  to  an  end  under  mysterious  circumstances. 
The  Moslems  among  whom  he  died  would  not  allow  any 
investigation  and  refused  the  request  of  the  missionaries 
that  Kamil’s  body  be  given  Christian  burial.  The  serv¬ 
ice  of  Kamil  was  but  brief,  yet  he  accomplished  much, 
for  he  showed  the  Christian  world  that  even  the  most 
fanatical  Mohammedans  can  be  won  for  Christ,  and  that 
when  once  they  become  Christians  they  are  as  zealous 
for  the  cause  of  Christ  as  they  have  previously  been  for 
the  cause  of  the  false  prophet. 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS  WHICH  MARK  WROTE 

Mark,  ch.  1 

Mark  lived  to  be  an  old  man  and  he  gave  many  years 
to  the  work  of  a  missionary  and  preacher.  It  is  believed 
that  he  introduced  Christianity  into  Alexandria;  tradi¬ 
tion  says  that  he  organized  the  first  Christian  church 
i;i  that  city.  Yet  Mark’s  greatest  influence  was  not  as 
a  preacher  and  organizer  of  churches,  but  as  a  writer. 
The  brief  account  of  the  life  of  Jesus  which  he  wrote  is 
one  of  the  greatest  books  in  the  world  and  its  influence 
over  the  life  of  mankind  cannot  be  estimated. 

Mark  was  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  task  of  writing  a 
life  of  Christ.  He  became  a  believer  in  Jesus  in  his  early 
youth.  His  early  years  were  not  wasted  in  selfish  and 
sinful  pleasure-seeking.  If  anyone  is  to  do  a  great  and 
lasting  work  for  God  and  humanity,  the  precious  morn¬ 
ing  hours  of  life  must  not  be  wasted.  Mark  was  for¬ 
tunate  in  having  as  his  companions  in  labor  some  of  the 
greatest  men  of  the  Early  Church.  He  was  with  Bar¬ 
nabas  and  Paul  in  the  very  beginning  of  the  foreign¬ 
missionary  undertaking.  He  was  Paul’s  companion  and 
helper  in  Rome  and  doubtless  in  many  other  fields.  He 
was  the  friend  and  helper  of  Peter.  Most  Bible  students 


150  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


believe  that  Mark’s  Gospel  is,  to  a  large  extent,  founded 
on  what  Mark  heard  from  the  lips  of  Peter.  So  close 
was  the  fellowship  between  Mark  and  Peter  that  Peter 
speaks  of  Mark  as  his  son. 

The  Narrative  of  an  Eyewitness.  The  Gospel  of  Mark 
gives  the  most  vivid  accounts  of  events  connected  with 
the  life  of  Jesus  to  be  found  in  the  New  Testament. 
Little  touches  here  and  there  make  us  sure  that  we  are 
reading  a  word  picture  from  the  pen  of  an  eyewitness. 
It  is  Mark  who  tells  us  that  when  Jesus  fed  the  multi¬ 
tudes  the  people  sat  down  on  the  green  grass  and  that 
their  bright-colored  clothing  gave  the  different  groups 
the  appearance  of  flower  beds  on  the  green  hillside.  It 
is  Mark  who  in  describing  the  scene  when  the  multi¬ 
tudes  gathered  to  be  healed  in  the  streets  of  Capernaum 
before  Peter’s  house,  tells  us  that  the  crowds  began  to 
gather  just  as  the  sun  went  down  over  the  Galilaean 
hills.  Many  students  of  the  Bible  believe  that  this  vivid¬ 
ness  is  due  to  the  fact  that  Mark  heard  Peter  tell  of 
these  events  many  times  as  he  preached  the  gospel  mes¬ 
sage.  This  may  well  be  true,  and  yet  is  it  not  also 
probable  that  this  vividness  is  due  to  the  fact  that  Mark 
himself  was  also  an  eyewitness  of  the  events  he  de¬ 
scribes?  The  eyes  of  a  boy  would  have  taken  in  exactly 
such  details  as  Mark  describes  and  he  would  have  caf- 
ried  more  vivid  images  of  these  events  through  his  life 
than  would  have  been  possible  for  an  adult  who 
witnessed  the  same  things. 

The  Mighty  Messiah.  If  you  sometime  visit  the  city 
of  Venice  in  Italy  you  will  doubtless  see  the  great  Cathe¬ 
dral  of  St.  Mark.  You  will  see  the  huge  stone  lions  which 
decorate  the  portal  of  that  vast  church.  The  Early 
Church  chose  certain  symbols  to  represent  the  writers 
of  the  four  Gospels.  They  chose  the  lion  as  the  symbol 
of  Mark.  Mark  portrays  the  majestic  strength  of  Jesus. 
He  describes  the  events  in  the  life  of  Jesus  which  show 
his  power  over  disease  and  death  and  the  intrigues  of 
sinful  men.  His  Gospel  is  one  of  the  most  dramatic 
books  in  the  Bible.  As  we  read  the  chapters  of  the 
Gospel  of  Mark  we  are  impressed  by  the  swift  march  of 
events  which  were  crowded  into  the  three  years  of  Jesus’ 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  151 


public  ministry.  Mark’s  favorite  word  is  “straightway.” 
Note  how  many  times  he  uses  it  in  the  chapter  which 
we  have  chosen  as  our  lesson  for  to-day. 

These  elements  of  power  in  the  character  of  Jesus 
would  have  been  especially  impressive  to  a  boy  twelve 
or  thirteen  years  of  age.  It  is  thought  that  Mark  wrote 
this  Gospel  about  a.d.  70.  If  such  is  the  case,  he  must 
have  been  past  fifty  years  of  age  at  the  time  he  wrote  this 
Gospel.  It  is  possible,  nevertheless,  that  we  have  in  this 
Gospel  many  of  Mark’s  memories  of  his  boyhood  experi¬ 
ences  with  Jesus.  In  any  case  the  Gospel  of  Mark  is  in  a 
peculiar  sense  the  young  people’s  life  of  Jesus. 

Mark’s  emphasis  on  the  deeds  of  Jesus  is  seen  in  the 
fact  that  he  gives  only  four  of  the  parables  of  Jesus, 
whereas  he  recounts  some  eighteen  of  the  miracles  of 
Jesus.  He  gives  at  any  length  only  one  of  the  longer 
discourses  of  Jesus. 

Portions  of  the  Gospel  Narrative  Peculiar  to  Mark. 

Mark’s  great  contribution  to  the  cause  of  Christ  lies  in 
the  fact  that  he  has  given  to  the  world  a  conception  of 
the  character  of  Jesus  which,  without  the  aid  of  this  vivid 
and  dramatic  narrative,  might  have  been  overlooked  by 
many.  Nevertheless,  there  are  certain  parables  of  Jesus 
and  certain  events  in  his  life  of  which  we  should  have 
known  nothing  had  not  Mark  written  his  Gospel.  Two 
of  the  miracles  of  Jesus  are  recounted  only  by  Mark. 
They  are  the  cure  of  the  deaf  and  dumb  man,  Mark 
7:31-37,  and  the  cure  of  the  blind  men,  recorded  in  Mark 
8 :22-26. 

Mark  likewise  tells  of  two  parables  of  Jesus  which  are 
not  mentioned  by  the  other  Gospel  writers.  One  of  these 
is  found  in  Mark  13:34-36  and  is  sometimes  called  the 
Parable  of  the  Watching  Porter.  It  is  a  very  striking 
little  parable.  The  householder  goes  away  into  another 
country  and  assigns  to  his  servants  the  particular  work 
which  each  was  to  do.  He  gave  the  porter  the  task  of 
watching  for  the  whole  household.  Then  Jesus  said  to 
his  disciples:  “Watch  therefore:  for  ye  know  not  when 
thie  lord  of  the  house  cometh,  whether  at  even,  or  at 
midnight,  or  at  cockcrowing,  or  in  the  morning;  lest 
coming  suddenly  he  find  you  sleeping.  And  what  I  say 


152  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOELOWERS  OF  JESUS 


unto  you  I  say  unto  all,  watch.”  Christian  people  must 
be  the  spiritual  watchmen  for  the  world.  They  must  be 
able  to  read  the  signs  of  the  times  and  give  due  warning 
and  guidance,  for  Christians  are  the  watching  porters 
for  the  spiritual  safety  of  humanity. 

The  otner  parable  which  Mark  alone  records  is  found 
in  Mark  4:26-29.  It  may  well  be  called  the  Boys’  and 
Girls’  Parable.  Its  picture  of  the  growth  of  a  plant  of 
wheat,  “first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then  the  full  grain 
in  the  ear,”  is  a  perfect  picture  of  the  spiritual  develop¬ 
ment  of  a  boy  or  girl  under  the  wise  nurture  of  Chris¬ 
tian  parents  and  teachers  and  the  abounding  grace  of 
God.  It  may  be  that  Mark  remembered  this  parable 
of  Jesus  because  he  had  found  it  to  be  a  true  picture  of 
his  own  life,  for  as  we  have  seen  his  was  a  life  of 
spiritual  growth. 

Thd  Courage  Which  Is  Born  oe  Righteousness 

The  World  War  gave  us  many  illustrations  of  the  fact 
that  lofty  courage  and  righteousness  of  life  usually  go 
together.  The  young  men  who  were  ready  at  all  times 
to  face  deadly  perils  were  for  the  most  part  those  who 
had  been  brought  up  in  Christian  homes  and  who  had 
been  Sunday-school  boys.  Tough  characters  who  had 
been  accustomed  to  hang  around  the  saloons  before  the 
war  did  not  usually  make  good  soldiers.  They  made 
more  trouble  for  their  commanding  officers  than  they 
did  for  the  enemy.  One  of  the  leading  American  gener¬ 
als  said  that  this  type  of  soldier  seldom  got  to  the  front. 

The  War  likewise  gave  an  illustration  of  this  principle 
on  a  larger  scale  than  the  individual  cases  we  have 
noted.  The  armies  which  did  not  hesitate  to  bombard 
cities  where  the  chief  victims  must  needs  be  women  and 
children,  and  which  terrorized  the  communities  which 
fell  under  their  control,  were  the  best  disciplined  and 
the  best  equipped  troops  the  world  had  ever  seen,  but 
in  the  end  they  were  found  to  be  wanting  in  the  funda¬ 
mental  requirements  for  a  truly  great  military  force.  In 
the  hour  of  success  these  troops  were  exultant  and  cruel, 
but  in  the  hour  of  adversity  they  lacked  the  heroic  ele- 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  153 


ments  of  character  which  alone  could  have  caused  them 
to  stand  and  turn  defeat  into  victory.  The  war  proved 
that,  even  from  a  military  standpoint,  “righteousness 
exalteth  a  nation ;  but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people.” 

Th:^  Lksson  Prayer 

We  thank  thee,  our  Father  in  heaven,  for  the  joys  and 
opportunities  of  youth.  Teach  us  to  use  these  early 
years  in  such  a  way  as  to  honor  thee  and  in  such  a  way 
as  to  fit  ourselves  to  serve  thee  with  efficiency  when  we 
take  up  our  life  tasks.  Help  us  to  be  diligent  and  faith¬ 
ful  in  the  performance  of  our  present  duties.  Show  us 
the  way  which  thou  hast  chosen  for  our  feet  and  give 
us  the  courage  and  wisdom  which  we  need  to  walk  in 
that  way  constantly  and  joyfully.  Give  to  us  a  continual 
growth  in  Christian  character  so  that  we  may  continu¬ 
ally  become  more  obedient  to  thee  and  to  those  in  au¬ 
thority  over  us  and  so  that  we  may  have  an  increasing 
sympathy  with  all  thy  children.  Reveal  the  beauty  and 
perfection  of  the  character  of  Jesus  to  us  so  that  we  may 
see  him  as  he  is  and  may  be  inspired  to  earnest  effort  to 
gain  something  of  his  perfection  of  character.  We  pray 
for  the  work  of  the  missionaries  who  are  preaching  the 
gospel  of  Christ  in  foreign  lands.  Give  them  wisdom  and 
strength  so  that  their  tasks  may  be  well  done  and  so  that 
many  may  be  brought  to  the  light  of  truth  through  a 
knowledge  of  Jesus  who  is  the  Light  of  the  world.  We 
ask  for  the  sake  of  thy  Son,  our  Lord.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“A  Mighty  Fortress  Is  Our  God.”  “Studies  of  Familiar 
Hymns,”  page  155. 

EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

COURAGEOUS  RIGHTEOUSNESS 
II  Sam.  12:l-15a 

Our  Scripture  lesson  is  about  the  courageous  prophet, 
Nathan,  who  dared  to  go  to  King  David  and  rebuke  that 
monarch  for  a  great  sin  which  he  had  committed. 


154  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Nathan  took  his  life  in  his  hands  when  he  went  to  stand 
before  King  David.  He  had  every  reason  to  expect  that 
the  king  would  order  his  head  taken  off.  He  could 
hardly  expect  any  other  result  from  a  monarch  of  that 
day,  but  in  obedience  to  God’s  commandment  he  went 
to  the  king  and  spoke  the  words  which  God  had  told 
him  to  speak.  The  Bible  is  full  of  illustrations  of 
courageous  righteousness.  So,  for  that  matter,  is  the 
history  of  every  nation  and  every  race.  The  Bible  and 
secular  history  likewise  have  some  illustrations  of 
cowardly  unrighteousness.  An  investigation  of  these 
illustrations  seems  to  prove  that  a  life  which  is  pure 
and  righteous  is  apt  to  be  more  deeply  and  truly  coura¬ 
geous  than  a  life  which  has  been  marred  by  impurity  and 
selfishness  and  cruelty. 

Some  Truths  erom  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

John  Mark  learned  to  be  courageous  through  fellow¬ 
ship  with  Jesus.  The  most  heroic  characters  of  history 
have  learned  to  be  brave  in  the  school  of  Jesus. 

Lofty  courage  and  tender  compassion  existed  side  by 
side  in  the  character  of  Jesus.  Unselfishness  is  an  ele¬ 
ment  of  bravery,  but  selfishness  and  cruelty  make  a 
good  soil  for  the  development  of  cowardice. 

John  Mark  had  a  courageous  mother  to  set  him  a  good 
example,  for  she  was  a  follower  of  Jesus  and  helper  of 
the  Church  when  it  was  dangerous  to  be  a  Christian. 

Mark  showed  his  courage  by  becoming  a  missionary, 
which  was  in  that  day  about  the  most  perilous  occupa¬ 
tion  he  could  have  chosen. 

The  older  he  became,  the  more  courageous  Mark  grew. 
In  his  youth  he  sometimes  gave  way  to  fear,  but  he 
learned,  in  time,  to  be  courageous  like  his  Master. 

Review  Questions 

1.  What  evidence  have  we  that  John  Mark  knew 

Jesus?  ^ 

2.  Tell  what  you  can  of  the  early  life  of  John  Mark. 

3.  Tell  of  Mark’s  first  missionary  experiences. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  155 


4.  Why  did  Mark  return  to  his  home  before  com¬ 
pleting  the  first  missionary  journey? 

5.  Tell  what  you  can  of  the  later  years  of  Mark’s 
career. 

6.  What  evidences  have  we  that  the  Gospel  of  Mark 
was  written  by  an  eyewitness? 

7.  What  characteristics  of  Jesus  are  emphasized  in 
Mark’s  Gospel? 

8.  Name  some  portions  of  the  Gospel  of  Mark  which 
contain  teachings  of  Jesus  or  incidents  in  the  life  of 
Jesus  which  are  not  found  in  the  other  Gospels. 

9.  Who  wrote  the  hymn  which  we  are  to  study  in  this 
lesson?  Give  a  brief  account  of  the  life  of  the  author  of 
the  hymn. 

10.  What  did  the  events  of  the  World  War  show 
regarding  the  sources  of  true  courage? 

Bible;  Ve;rsi:s 

Ps.  18:1,  2;  Prov.  28:1 ;  Isa.  12:2;  50:7 ;  John  7:25,  26; 
Acts  4:13;  13:46;  Eph.  3:12;  Heb.  10:19-22;  I  John 
2:28. 

Study  Topics 

1.  Incidents  in  the  Life  of  Jesus  Which  Show  His 
Courage.  Luke  13:31-33;  John  11:1-10. 

2.  The  Courage  of  Paul  the  Prisoner.  II  Tim.  4:6-8. 

3.  Paul’s  Courage  in  a  Storm  at  Sea.  Acts,  ch.  27. 

4.  Nehemiah,  a  Man  of  Prayer  and  Action.  Neh., 
ch.  4. 

5.  The  Cowardice  of  Adam.  Gen.  3:9-15. 

6.  A  Scoundrel  Who  Was  Terrified  by  the  Preaching 
of  Paul.  Acts  24:24-26.  (Read  about  Felix  in  a  Bible 
dictionary.) 

7.  The  Source  of  Joshua’s  Courageous  Character. 
Josh.  1 :7-9. 

8.  Elijah,  a  Man  of  Courageous  Righteousness. 
I  Kings  21 : 17-26. 

9.  Circumstances  Which  Demand  Courageous  Right¬ 
eousness  in  Our  Day.  (Illustrations:  to  confess  faith 
in  Christ  when  in  the  presence  of  unbelievers;  to  refuse 


156  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


to  do  that  which  is  evil  even  when  all  our  companions 
urge  us  to  the  evil  acts  and  practice  these  things  them¬ 
selves.) 

10.  Martin  Luther  at  the  Diet  of  Worms.  (See  any 
Church  History.) 

Putting  thk  Truths  of  thf  Lesson  Into  Practice 

There  are  many  opportunities  for  young  people  to 
manifest  a  spirit  of  courageous  righteousness.  A  few  of 
these  opportunities  which  are  almost  sure  to  come  to 
every  Intermediate  boy  or  girl  are  as  follows : 

1.  To  take  part  in  the  discussion  of  the  topics  in  the 
Christian  Endeavor  meetings  and  other  like  gatherings 
for  young  people. 

2.  To  lead  young  people's  meetings. 

3.  To  lead  in  public  prayer. 

4.  To  talk  with  companions  on  matters  of  religion 
and  urge  them  to  become  professed  followers  of  Christ. 

5.  To  refuse  to  desecrate  Sunday  by  buying  or  sell¬ 
ing,  by  unnecessary  travel,  or  by  unworthy  forms  of 
amusement. 

6.  To  refuse  immodest  types  of  clothing  even  though 
these  types  are  all  the  style. 

7.  To  speak  in  defense  of  the  Christian  religion  and 
the  Christian  Church  when  in  the  company  of  those  who 
are  inclined  to  ridicule  sacred  things. 

8.  To  manifest  a  spirit  of  broad  sympathy  and  uni¬ 
versal  brotherhood  toward  people  of  other  races  and 
other  nationalities. 

9.  To  manifest  a  spirit  of  fellowship  with  other  young 
people  who  are  too  poor  to  wear  the  best  of  clothes  or 
to  live  in  costly  dwellings. 

10.  To  condemn  anything  in  the  conversation  of  their 
companions  which  is  low  and  mean  and  unjust. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

LUKE,  the  good  PHYSICIAN 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

A  MODEST  MAN  WHO  DID  A  GREAT  WORK  IN  A 

QUIET  WAY 

Acts  16:6-15;  Col.  4:14;  Luke  1:1-4;  II  Tim.  4:9-18 

We  take  up  in  this  lesson  the  study  of  another  New 
Testament  writer  who  has  given  to  the  world  an  account 
of  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus.  Luke  was  a  Gentile. 
In  him  we  have  an  illustration  of  what  the  religion  of 
Jesus  can  do  for  one  born  in  paganism.  Luke  is  a  kind 
of  first  fruits  of  that  vast  army  of  Christian  believers 
who  have  been  won  for  Christ  from  the  Gentile  nations. 
Luke  may  have  been  a  Greek  and  it  is  thought  that  he 
spent  his  boyhood  in  Troas,  which  is  in  the  same  district 
as  the  ancient  Troy  concerning  which  Homer  wrote. 
The  early  life  of  Luke  must  have  been  very  different 
from  the  early  life  of  Mark.  Because  his  training  and 
experiences  had  been  different,  Luke  was  able  to  write 
a  life  of  Jesus  which  is  different  from  all  the  other 
Gospels,  and  thus  we  are  able  to  gain  a  better  concep¬ 
tion  of  the  character  of  Jesus  than  we  could  otherwise 
have  attained. 

The  Friend  and  Companion  of  Paul.  Acts  16:6-15. 
Luke  evidently  first  met  Paul  at  Troas  when  Paul  was 
on  his  second  missionary  journey.  We  can  trace  Luke’s 
presence  with  Paul  through  the  book  of  The  Acts  by 
noting  the  pronouns  which  he  uses.  When  Luke  was  with 
Paul,  he  uses  the  pronouns  “we”  or  “us”  in  describing 
the  events  of  the  journey.  When  he  was  not  with  Paul 
and  others  were  accompanying  the  disciple,  he  uses  the 
])ronoun  “they.”  In  this  way  we  know  that  Luke  joined 
Paul  at  Troas  and  went  with  him  as  far  as  Philippi.  Luke 
evidently  remained  in  Philippi  while  Paul  pursued  his 
journey  southward  to  other  cities  of  Macedonia  and 
Greece.  When  Paul  again  came  to  Philippi  on  his  third 

157 


158  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


missionary  journey,  Luke  rejoined  him  there,  so  it  is 
probable  that  Luke  had  been  making  that  city  his  home 
during  Paul’s  absence.  Possibly  he  had  been  caring  for 
the  converts  to  Christianity  who  had  turned  away  from 
paganism  under  the  preaching  of  Paul.  When  Paul 
again  left  Philippi,  Luke  went  with  him.  He  was  with 
Paul  in  Jerusalem  and  probably  cared  for  him  during 
the  long  imprisonment  at  Csesarea.  He  sailed  with  Paul 
on  the  voyage  which  ended  in  shipwreck  on  the  island 
of  Malta  and  afterward  accompanied  him  to  Rome. 

The  Beloved  Physician.  Col.  4:14.  Luke  was  a  phy- 
sician,  and  he  seems  to  have  made  it  his  life  work  to 
accompany  Paul  and  care  for  him  through  the  years  of 
stirring  adventure  and  arduous  toil  which  marked  the 
career  of  that  great  missionary  to  the  Gentiles.  Paul 
seems  to  have  suffered  most  of  his  life  from  some  phys¬ 
ical  affliction  and  during  his  later  years  the  infirmities 
of  age  began  to  lie  heavily  upon  him.  Perhaps  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  constant  companionship  and  care  of 
Luke,  Paul  could  not  have  accomplished  so  much  for 
the  Kingdom  of  God.  Paul  appreciated  the  unselfish 
devotion  of  his  good  friend  and  speaks  of  him  as  '‘the 
beloved  physician.” 

A  Careful  and  Scholarly  Writer.  Luke  1  :l-4.  Luke 
was  an  author  as  well  as  a  physician.  He  found  time  to 
write  an  account  of  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus  and 
a  brief  history  of  the  Early  Church  which  we  call  The 
Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Luke  did  his  work  with  great 
care.  He  tells  us  that  he  “traced  the  course  of  all  things 
accurately  from  the  first.”  He  talked  with  many  who 
had  known  Jesus  and  heard  him.  He  had  an  opportunity 
to  meet  many  of  these  people  who  had  been  with  Jesus 
and  who  had  been  witnesses  of  the  resurrection.  It 
seems  certain  that  Luke  knew  Mary,  the  mother  of 
Jesus,  and  the  group  of  women  who  were  among  the 
followers  of  Jesus.  He  tells  us  many  incidents  con¬ 
cerning  the  childhood  of  Jesus  which  are  not  mentioned 
by  the  other  Gospel  writers,  and  he  adds  the  significant 
phrase,  “His  mother  kept  all  these  sayings  in  her  heart.” 

A  Humble  Man  Who  Kept  Himself  in  the  Background. 
Luke  wrote  a  large  part  of  the  New  Testament  and  yet 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  159 


he  never  mentioned  his  own  name  in  any  sentence  that 
he  penned.  He  uses  the  first  person  singular  of  the 
pronoun  “I”  only  twice.  In  this  respect  he  is  very  dif¬ 
ferent  from  Paul.  Paul  did  not  hesitate  to  use  his  own 
name  frequently.  He  begins  every  letter  with  some  such 
phrase  as  “Paul,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ.”  He  stoutly 
defended  his  right  to  be  called  an  apostle  and  declared 
that  he  was  not  a  whit  beneath  the  other  apostles.  He 
urged  his  converts  to  follow  him  as  an  example.  This 
difference  is  discreditable  to  neither,  Paul  nor  Luke. 
They  differed  in  disposition,  that  is  all.  God  has  willed 
that  people  should  thus  differ.  They  are  fitted  for  dif¬ 
ferent  tasks  because  they  differ  thus  in  disposition.  Paul 
did  a  work  which  Luke  could  not  have  done  because 
Paul  was  strongly  aggressive  and  self-assertive,  but 
Luke  likewise  did  a  work  which  Paul  could  not  have 
done.  We  feel  as  we  read  the  beautiful  story  of  Jesus 
which  Luke  wrote  that  there  was  nothing  affected  and 
forced  in  Luke’s  self-effacement.  He  was  so  intensely 
interested  in  the  wonderful  narrative  that  he  simply  lost 
sight  of  himself.  When  he  was  Paul’s  helper  and  com¬ 
panion,  he  likewise  lost  sight  of  self  in  the  great  cause 
in  which  he  was  engaged  and  the  great  leader  with  whom 
he  was  associated.  People  are  apt  to  overlook  the  men 
and  women  who  are  of  the  Luke  type.  They  are  not 
appreciated  in  the  day  in  which  they  live  and  sometimes 
not  even  after  they  are  dead.  But  people  of  the  Luke 
type  do  not  care  very  much  about  these  things.  If  the 
cause  they  love  prospers,  they  are  content.  There  are 
no  mistakes,  however,  in  the  judgments  of  God,  and  in 
the  great  hereafter  human  lives  will  be  seen  in  the  true 
light  of  actual  worth  and  achievement.  Perhaps  Jesus 
had  people  of  the  Luke  type  in  mind  when  he  said  that 
many  that  are  last  shall  be  first. 

“Only  Luke  Is  with  Me.”  H  Tim.  4:9-18.  When 
Paul  was  brought  to  his  final  trial  before  Nero,  a  kind 
of  panic  seems  to  have  seized  his  companions.  Demas 
and  Titus  and  Crescens  found  excuses  for  a  hasty  de¬ 
parture  from  Rome.  It  is  little  wonder  that  they  fled 
in  terror,  for  Nero  was  a  ferocious  monster  who  burned 
the  Christians  as  human  torches  to  light  his  gardens  at 


160  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 

night.  Perhaps  they  were  justified  in  leaving  the  city 
and  not  sacrificing  themselves  just  then  for  the  cause 
they  loved.  There  was  one,  however,  who  would  not 
flee.  He  had  stood  by  Paul  through  mobs  and  ship¬ 
wrecks  and  imprisonments,  and  he  would  not  forsake 
him  now.  In  writing  to  Timothy  Paul  says,  ‘‘only  Luke 
is  with  me.’’ 

The  time  and  manner  of  Luke’s  death  are  unknown. 
It  is  probable,  however,  that  he  perished  in  the  Neronian 
persecution  soon  after  his  great  companion  had  laid 
down  his  life  in  witness  to  the  Christian  faith. 

“Doctor  Luke  oe  the  Labrador” 

Wilfred  Grenfell  has  been  called  the  “Doctor  Luke  of 
the  Labrador.”  For  many  years  he  has  been  a  medical 
missionary  among  the  poor  fisherfolk  of  the  bleak  Lab¬ 
rador  coast.  He  ministers  to  their  bodies,  minds,  and 
spirits,  for  he  is  physician,  teacher,  and  preacher.  Like 
Luke,  the  beloved  physician.  Dr.  Grenfell  has  lost  sight 
of  self  in  the  pursuit  of  a  great  cause.  The  story  of  what 
he  has  done  for  the  people  of  Labrador  is  well  known, 
but  that  is  not  the  whole  story.  No  man  can  give  him¬ 
self  to  unselfish  service  for  many  years  and  not  have 
definite  results  of  that  service  registered  in  his  own  per¬ 
sonality.  What  has  his  life  of  helpfulness  and  unselfish¬ 
ness  done  for  Dr.  Grenfell? 

In  the  first  place,  it  has  made  him  happy  and  con¬ 
tented.  He  is  one  of  the  happiest  men  imaginable,  one 
of  the  most  cheerfully  contented.  Yet  he  has  few  of  the 
things  which  most  people  regard  as  necessary  to  their 
happiness.  He  is  far  from  the  automobiles,  the  moving- 
picture  shows,  the  theaters,  the  daily  papers.  He  has  no 
possession  of  extensive  lands,  no  huge  and  growing  bank 
account,  no  stocks  or  bonds,  or  interest-bearing  invest¬ 
ments.  His  life  is  an  illustration  of  a  fundamental  law 
which  unchangeably  decrees  that  happiness  shall  be 
found  in  the  way  of  purity,  duty,  and  service,  and  not 
in  the  way  of  selfish  pleasure-seeking. 

In  the  second  place.  Dr.  Grenfell’s  life  of  service  has 
given  him  power  and  confidence.  He  has  accomplished 
things  that  are  of  utmost  importance.  There  is  about 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  161 


his  whole  personality  something  which  continually  says, 
“I  can.”  When  a  man  lays  hold  on  a  task  in  which  he 
is  a  coworker  with  Jesus  Christ,  he  learns  to  say,  “I 
can  do  all  things  in  him  that  strengtheneth  me.” 

In  the  third  place.  Dr.  Grenfell’s  life  of  service  has 
given  him  vision  and  optimism.  He  sees  before  him 
possibilities  for  far  greater  things  than  he  has  yet  ac¬ 
complished.  He  believes  in  the  future  and  is  sure  that 
things  will  ultimately  come  out  right.  What  a  reward 
for  doing  God’s  will  and  accomplishing  his  work — joy 
and  contentment,  power  and  confidence,  vision  and  op¬ 
timism  !  It  was  this  deep  spiritual  truth  that  Jesus  had 
experienced  and  of  this  truth  he  spoke  when  he  said : 
“My  meat  is  to  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  and  to 
accomplish  his  work.  Say  not  ye.  There  are  yet  four 
months,  and  then  cometh  the  harvest?  behold,  I  say 
unto  you.  Lift  up  your  eyes,  and  look  on  the  fields,  that 
they  are  white  already  unto  harvest.  He  that  reapeth 
receiveth  wages,  and  gathereth  fruit  unto  life  eternal.” 
John  4:34-36. 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

THE  BIOGRAPHER  OF  JESUS  AND  THE  HISTORIAN 

OF  THE  EARLY  CHURCH 

Luke  7:36-50;  10:25-37;  15:11-32;  16:19-31 

Luke  wrote  a  larger  part  of  the  New  Testament  than 
did  any  other  person  except  Paul.  He  thus  made  a  con¬ 
tribution  of  inestimable  value  toward  the  establishment 
of  Christianity  in  the  world.  In  this  lesson  we  are  to 
learn  a  few  facts  concerning  the  two  New  Testament 
books  which  Luke  wrote. 

Luke’s  Biography  op  Jesus 

The  great  contribution  which  Luke  made  to  our  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus  will  be  made  plain 
by  a  study  of  the  following  list  of  parables  of  Jesus  and 
miracles  of  Jesus  which  are  found  only  in  the  Gospel 
of  Luke: 


162  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Parables  of  Jesus  Peculiar  to  Luke: 


The  Two  Debtors . Luke  7:36-50. 

The  Good  Samaritan . Ch.  10:25-37. 

The  Friend  at  Midnight . Ch.  11:5-8. 

The  Rich  Fool . Ch.  12:16-21. 

The  Servants  Watching . Ch.  12:35-40. 

The  Steward  on  Trial . Ch.  12:42-48. 

The  Barren  Fig  Tree . Ch.  13:6-9. 

The  Great  Supper . Ch.  14:16-24. 

The  Tower  and  the  Warring  King..Ch.  14:28-33. 

The  Lost  Piece  of  Money . Ch.  15:8-10. 

The  Prodigal  Son . Ch.  15:11-32. 

The  Unjust  Steward . Ch.  16:1-13. 

The  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus . Ch.  16:19-31. 

The  Master  and  Servant . Ch.  17:7-10. 

The  Importunate  Widow . Ch.  18:1-8. 

The  Pharisee  and  the  Publican . Ch.  18:9-14. 

The  Pounds . Ch.  19:12-27. 

Miracles  of  Jesus  Peculiar  to  Luke: 

Jesus  Passing  Through  the  Crowd  at 

Nazareth  . Luke  4:28-30. 

Draft  of  Fishes . Ch.  5:1-11. 

Widow’s  Son  Raised  to  Life  at  Nain.Ch.  7:11-17. 

Woman’s  Infirmity  Cured . Ch.  13:11-17. 

Dropsy  Cured . Ch.  14:1-6. 

Ten  Lepers  Cleansed . Ch.  17:11-19. 

The  Ear  of  Malchus  Healed . Ch.  22:50,51. 


It  will  be  seen  from  this  list  that  we  are  indebted  to 
Luke  for  all  the  knowledge  we  have  concerning  seventeen 
of  the  parables  of  Jesus  and  seven  of  his  miracles.  What 
a  loss  it  would  be  if  such  parables  as  that  of  the  Good 
Samaritan,  the  Prodigal  Son,  and  the  Rich  Man  and 
Lazarus  were  taken  out  of  the  New  Testament  and  for¬ 
ever  lost  to  the  human  race !  They  are  not  lost  because 
Luke  under  God’s  guidance  labored  earnestly  and  faith¬ 
fully  in  his  task  of  gathering  up  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
and  recording  them  for  future  generations. 

The  Gospel  of  Human  Sympathy  and  Universal  Broth¬ 
erhood.  The  Gospel  of  Luke  is  very  different  from  that 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  163 

of  Mark.  Whereas  Mark  saw  in  Jesus  the  mighty  Mes¬ 
siah  vanquishing  disease  and  death  and  putting  his  an¬ 
tagonists  to  silence,  Luke  saw  in  Jesus  the  compassionate 
Saviour  of  the  world.  Jesus  was  all  that  Mark  saw  in 
him,  but  Mark  did  not  see  all  of  Jesus.  Neither  did 
Luke.  We  must  take  all  the  Gospel  narratives  together 
to  gain  even  the  beginning  of  a  right  conception  of  the 
greatness  of  the  character  of  Jesus. 

A  glance  through  the  list  of  the  parables  of  Jesus 
peculiar  to  Luke  will  make  it  plain  that  Luke  was  spe¬ 
cially  attracted  to  the  teachings  of  Jesus  which  dealt 
with  such  subjects  as  the  universal  and  unchangeable 
love  of  God  for  all  his  children,  the  common  brother¬ 
hood  which  unites  all  mankind,  and  the  equality  of  all 
men  as  to  the  value  which  the  heavenly  Father  has 
placed  upon  them.  Because  Luke  was  himself  unselfish 
and  sympathetic  and  democratic,  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
concerning  brotherhood  and  service  were  especially  at¬ 
tractive  to  him.  Perhaps  his  training  as  a  physician 
and  his  experiences  as  a  practitioner  had  helped  to  de¬ 
velop  in  him  a  spirit  of  sympathy  which  gave  him  a 
likeness  to  the  Great  Physician.  In  the  providence  of  God, 
this  beloved  physician  had  been  led  through  a  course  of 
preparation  that  he  might  do  a  great  work.  He  had  been 
chosen  from  among  Gentile  peoples  to  do  a  task  for  which 
few  Jews,  because  of  their  early  training,  were  fitted. 

A  Record  of  the  Boyhood  and  Young  Manhood  of 
Jesus.  Luke  2:40-52.  Lukes  gives  us  practically  all  we 
know  concerning  the  boyhood  and  young  manhood  of 
Jesus.  His  accounts  are  brief  but  wonderfully  sug¬ 
gestive.  They  are  the  only  accounts  we  have  in  all 
literature  of  a  perfect  childhood  and  youth.  Perhaps 
it  was  his  sympathy  with  children  and  young  people 
which  made  this  kindly  physician  search  diligently  until 
he  had  gathered  and  verified  these  few  but  all-important 
facts  concerning  the  early  life  of  Jesus.  Luke’s  sublime 
statement  concerning  the  boy  Jesus  is  all  we  really  need 
to  know :  “And  the  child  grew,  and  waxed  strong,  filled 
with  wisdom  :  and  the  grace  of  God  was  upon  him.”  This 
brief  statement  assures  us  that  Jesus  was  perfect  in  his 
physical,  mental,  and  spiritual  development. 


164  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


In  his  interesting  account  of  Jesus’  visit  to  the  Temple 
at  the  age  of  twelve,  Luke  gives  us  the  first  recorded 
words  of  Jesus.  In  one  brief  verse  Luke  covers  eighteen 
quiet  years  which  Jesus  spent  at  Nazareth,  “And  Jesus 
advanced  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and  in  favor  with  God 
and  men.” 

A  Record  of  the  Prayer  Life  of  Jesus.  Luke  tells  us 
more  about  the  prayer  life  of  Jesus  than  do  any  of  the 
other  Gospel  writers.  He  tells  us  that  Jesus  was  praying 
at  his  baptism  when  the  Holy  Spirit  came  upon  him, 
that  he  had  gone  up  on  the  mountain  to  pray  that  night 
when  he  was  transfigured  before  his  disciples,  and  that 
it  was  the  prayers  of  Jesus  which  led  the  disciples  to 
come  to  their  Master  with  the  request,  “Lord,  teach  us 
to  pray.”  Luke  tells  us  that  Jesus  spent  a  whole  night 
in  prayer  before  choosing  his  disciples  and  that  he 
prayed  for  those  who  were  nailing  him  to  the  cross.  We 
may  well  believe  that  Luke  himself  was  a  man  of  prayer 
and  thus  was  aware  of  the  important  place  which  prayer 
held  in  the  life  of  his  Master. 

Lukls  History  or  thi:  Early  Church 

In  writing  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  Luke  did  another 
service  for  the  Christian  religion  which  we  cannot  meas¬ 
ure.  Had  it  not  been  for  Luke’s  account  we  should 
have  known  almost  nothing  concerning  the  beginnings 
of  the  Christian  Church.  We  could  have  gleaned  a  little 
information  from  the  letters  of  Paul,  but  this  information 
would  have  been  meager  indeed. 

A  Letter  to  a  Friend.  Luke  1:1-4;  Acts  1:1-5.  The 

introductory  words  of  Luke’s  Gospel  and  of  The  Acts 
reveal  the  interesting  fact  that  both  of  these  books  were 
letters  written  to  a  friend  of  Luke’s  who  bore  the  name 
of  Theophilus.  In  his  modesty  Luke  had  no  idea  that 
he  was  writing  documents  which  would  live  forever.  He 
was  gathering  information  concerning  the  life  and  teach¬ 
ings  of  Jesus  and  the  facts  of  the  Early  Church  in  order 
that  he  might  help  a  friend  of  his  to  stand  firm  in  the 
faith  'and  “know  the  certainty  concerning  the  things 
wherein”  he  had  been  instructed. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  165 


The  Biographer  of  Peter  and  Paul.  If  Luke  had  not 
written  The  Acts,  we  should  have  no  certain  knowledge 
concerning  Peter’s  activities  as  an  apostle,  neither  would 
there  be  much  available  information  concerning  any  of 
the  other  disciples.  We  could  gather  some  information 
concerning  Paul  from  his  letters,  but  much  that  is  of 
great  interest  and  value  concerning  him  would  be  lost. 
As  we  read  the  portions  of  the  New  Testament  written 
by  Luke,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  these  priceless  spirit¬ 
ual  treasures  were  made  possible  for  us  because  nearly 
nineteen  hundred  years  ago  a  good  physician  thought  of 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  a  friend  and  took  the  time  and 
pains  necessary  to  gather  accurate  information  concern¬ 
ing  Jesus  and  the  Early  Church,  that  this  friend  might 
know  the  certainty  of  the  things  he  had  been  taught. 
We  know  little  about  the  life  of  Luke  himself,  because 
he  seldom  spoke  of  himself  except  when  it  was  necessary 
to  do  so  in  speaking  of  others,  but  as  we  have  seen  he 
has  given  us  abundant  and  valuable  information  con¬ 
cerning  a  number  of  his  fellow  laborers, 

Arthur  Jackson,  the;  He;ro  or  Mukde;n 

As  a  student  in  college  and  university,  Arthur  Jack- 
son  was  an  honor  pupil.  He  was  also  a  leader  in  athlet¬ 
ics.  Having  won  a  hotly  contested  game  of  football  by 
his  skillful  and  powerful  playing,  he  became  the  hero  of 
his  school.  His  successes  did  not  spoil  him.  He  did  not 
become  conceited ;  on  the  contrary,  his  success  seemed 
to  turn  his  thoughts  toward  a  life  of  service.  He  early 
determined  to  become  a  medical  missionary.  After  his 
graduation  from  Cambridge  he  was  sent  by  the  United 
Free  Church  of  Scotland  as  a  medical  missionary  to 
Manchuria. 

He  had  hardly  reached  his  new  field  when  circum¬ 
stances  arose  which  tested  his  spirit  and  his  devotion  to 
the  cause  he  had  come  to  advance.  A  dreadful  malady 
known  as  the  pneumonic  plague  had  broken  out  in  Man¬ 
churia.  It  had  swept  through  the  northern  part  of  that 
country  and  had  crept  steadily  southward.  Cases  were 
already  reported  in  Mukden  when  Dr.  Jackson  arrived. 
Thousands  of  Chinese  coolies  were  at  that  season  of  the 


166  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


year  returning  from  Manchuria  to  their  homes  in  China. 
It  seemed  certain  that  they  would  carry  the  plague  into 
the  densely  settled  regions  of  China  and  no  one  could 
tell  how  many  thousands  of  lives  would  be  sacrificed. 
The  only  way  to  avert  the  disaster  was  to  hold  these 
Chinese  workmen  in  Mukden,  have  them  examined  by 
a  competent  physician,  and  place  in  permanent  quaran¬ 
tine  all  who  gave  any  signs  of  the  disease.  The  post 
was  one  of  utmost  peril  and  Dr.  Jackson  knew  it,  but 
he  unhesitatingly  volunteered  his  services.  He  stood 
faithfully  at  his  task  as  defender  of  China’s  millions  from 
the  '‘black  death.”  Then  he  was  stricken  by  the  plague 
and  died. 

Dr.  Jackson’s  missionary  service  extended  over  a 
period  of  only  three  months,  but  we  must  not  think  of 
the  results  of  his  service  as  meager.  He  doubtless  ac¬ 
complished  more  in  that  brief  period  than  many  people 
accomplish  in  a  long  lifetime.  His  spirit  of  unselfish 
service  and  his  death  in  the  pathway  of  duty  made  a  pro¬ 
found  impression  on  many  of  the  leading  men  of  China. 
The  viceroy  of  Manchuria,  Hsi  Liang,  said  of  him :  “Dr. 
Jackson  was  moved  by  the  heart  of  the  Saviour  who  gave 
his  life  to  the  world.  He  responded  nobly  when  we 
asked  him  to  help  our  country  in  its  need.  He  went 
forth  daily  to  help  us  in  our  fight  with  the  plague  and 
he  labored  where  the  pest  lay  thickest.  Amidst  the 
groans  of  the  dying,  he  struggled  to  cure  the  stricken, 
to  find  medicine  to  stay  the  evil.  Worn  by  his  efforts, 
the  pestilence  seized  him,  and  took  him  from  us.” 

The  viceroy  sent  ten  thousand  dollars  to  the  family  of 
Dr.  Jackson,  but  Dr.  Jackson’s  mother  graciously  sent  it 
back  to  Manchuria  for  the  purpose  of  founding  a  Chris¬ 
tian  hospital  in  the  city  where  her  son  had  laid  down  his 
life  for  Christ  and  humanity.  Hearing  of  this,  Hsi  Liang 
added  seven  thousand  to  the  gift  and  to-day  there  is  a 
splendid  hospital  in  Mukden,  ministering  to  the  people 
for  whom  Dr.  Jackson  gave  his  life,  a  monument  to  a 
noble  and  unselfish  man  who  was  found  faithful  even 
unto  death. 

Lives  like  that  of  Dr.  Jackson,  and  more  especially 
deaths  like  his,  are  making  an  irresistible  impact  against 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  167 


the  strongholds  of  paganism.  Pagan  philosophy  and 
pagan  religion  are  hardened  against  word-of-mouth  ar¬ 
guments,  but  for  unselfish  service  of  the  Dr.  Jackson 
kind,  it  has  no  answer. 

The  Lesson  Prayer 

We  ask  thee,  our  God  and  Father,  to  give  us  the  spirit 
of  love  and  service.  We  would  have  our  ambitions 
center  in  Christ  and  his  Kingdom  and  not  in  ourselves. 
If  we  meet  with  reverses,  help  us  to  be  persevering  and 
faithful.  If  we  meet  with  personal  successes,  grant  that 
we  may  be  humble  and  thankful.  Teach  us  to  know  thy 
will  concerning  our  lives,  that  we  may  not  waste  our 
time  and  efforts  on  things  that  are  not  worth  while. 
Teach  us  to  be  morally  earnest,  spiritually  pure,  and 
truly  grateful.  Bless  the  Church  of  thy  Son  in  all  its 
activities,  in  all  places  where  it  has  been  established, 
and  hasten  its  spread  over  all  the  earth.  Lead  the  nations 
of  the  earth  in  thy  ways  of  peace  and  brotherhood.  We 
ask  these  things  in  the  name  of  thy  Son.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“When  I  Survey  the  Wondrous  Cross.”  “Studies  of 
Familiar  Hymns,”  page  127. 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

CHRISTIAN  HUMILITY 
Matt.  18:1-6;  20:20-28 

The  Christian  life  is  very  largely  a  matter  of  right 
relationships  and  right  attitudes.  The  Christian  main¬ 
tains  right  relations  with  his  fellow  men,  right  relations 
with  himself,  right  relations  with  God.  One  of  the  most 
important  elements  of  these  right  personal  attitudes  is 
called  “humility.” 

There  is  a  right  kind  of  humility  and  a  wrong  kind 
of  humility,  just  as  there  is  a  right  kind  of  pride  and  a 
wrong  kind  of  pride.  That  is  why  we  have  chosen 


168  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


to  discuss  ^^Christian”  humility  in  this  lesson.  Jesus 
was  trying  to  teach  his  disciples  Christian  humility  in 
the  passages  of  Scripture  we  are  to  study  in  this  lesson. 
He  set  a  little  child  before  his  disciples  as  an  object 
lesson  in  Christian  humility.  A  child  is  willing  and 
anxious  to  learn.  You  never  saw  a  child  which  had  that 
kind  of  intellectual  pride  which  despises  the  intellectual 
possessions  of  others ;  which  struts  and  says,  “I  have 
no  need  that  anyone  tell  me  anything.” 

Jesus  told  his  disciples  that  his  followers  must  not  be 
haughty  and  proud  like  the  Gentiles  who  “lord  it  over” 
those  whom  they  regard  as  inferiors,  but  that  his  follow¬ 
ers  must  have  a  spirit  of  humble  service  which  would 
make  them  ministers  of  their  fellow  men.  He  told  them 
that  true  greatness  lay  in  service,  in  ministering  to  others 
rather  than  in  being  ministered  to  by  others. 

Some  Truths  from  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

Luke  possessed  Christian  humility.  It  made  him  for¬ 
get  self  in  his  desire  to  serve  others  and  advance  the 
cause  of  Christ. 

Luke  was  free  from  that  wrong  kind  of  humility 
which  leads  to  self-depreciation.  He  had  self-confidence 
and  did  not  fear  to  undertake  great  tasks  with  the  help 
of  God. 

No  one  can  ever  tell  the  good  which  may  be  accom¬ 
plished  by  an  act  of  humble  service.  Luke  wrote  two 
letters  to  a  friend  in  order  to  help  his  friend  to  have 
a  clear  and  strong  faith  in  the  Christian  religion.  These 
letters  were  doubtless  a  help  and  a  blessing  to  Luke’s 
friend,  but  they  did  not  end  there;  they  have  brought 
help  and  blessing  to  millions  of  people. 

Humility  is  necessary  for  great  scholarship.  Luke 
was  humble  enough  to  learn  from  every  available  source. 

Humility  and  fidelity  are  closely  related.  Humility 
refuses  to  put  self-interest  first.  That  is  why  Luke 
stood  by  Paul  when  others  forsook  him. 

There  is  a  sense  in  which  we  understand  and  appre¬ 
ciate  the  character  of  Jesus  only  as  we  become  in  some 
measure  like  him. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  169 


Rkviicw  Questions 

1.  Name  some  ways  in  which  Luke  was  fitted  to 
write  a  life  of  Christ. 

2.  Of  what  service  was  Luke  to  Paul? 

3.  On  what  journeys  did  Paul  have  Luke  for  a 
companion? 

4.  What  evidences  have  we  that  Luke  was  a  humble 
man  ? 

5.  Tell  of  Luke’s  fidelity  to  Paul. 

6.  What  effect  has  Wilfred  Grenfell’s  work  had? 

7.  Name  some  parables  of  Jesus  given  only  by  Luke. 

8.  Name  some  of  the  leading  characteristics  of  the 
Gospel  of  Luke. 

9.  Name  some  events  in  the  life  of  Jesus  which  are 
told  only  in  Luke’s  Gospel. 

10.  Why  is  The  Acts  an  important  part  of  the  New 
Testament? 

BibIvK  Ve:rsFS 

Prov.  15:33;  22:4;  Micah  6:8;  Matt.  11:28,  29;  Mark 
9:34-37;  Eph.  4:1-3;  Phil.  2:3;  Col.  3:12;  James  4:10; 
I  Peter  5  :15. 

Study  Topics 

1.  The  Perfect  Humility  of  Jesus.  Phil.  2:5-11. 

2.  The  Plumility  of  Moses.  Ex.  3:11. 

3.  The  Humility  of  Jeremiah.  Jer.  1 :6. 

4.  Humility  Not  Inconsistent  with  a  True  Self-Con¬ 
fidence  Which  Undertakes  Great  Tasks.  Isa.  6:1-8. 

5.  Pride  Which  Went  Before  a  Fall.  Dan.  4:28-33. 

6.  The  Peril  of  a  Proud  and  Haughty  Spirit.  Jer., 
ch.  43. 

7.  Pride  and  Spiritual  Degradation  Existing  To¬ 
gether.  Isa.  28:1-8. 

8.  Forms  of  Humble  Service  Open  to  Intermediate 
Pupils. 

9.  Great  Americans  Who  Have  Been  Men  of  Humble 
Spirit. 

10.  Why  Self-Respect  and  Humility  Are  Both  Essen¬ 
tial  to  Lofty  Character. 


170  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Putting  the  Truths  of  the  Lesson  Into  Practice 

Let  each  member  of  the  class  find  some  form  of  humble 
service  for  the  week  intervening  between  this  expres- 
sional  meeting  and  the  next.  Have  reports  on  these 
activities  at  the  next  meeting.  Such  services  as  helping 
in  the  home,  taking  flowers  to  those  who  are  sick,  writ¬ 
ing  post  cards  to  “shut-ins,"’  and  making  Christmas 
presents  for  poor  children,  would  be  expressional 
activities  suitable  for  the  lessons  of  this  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

STEPHEN  AND  PHILIP  THE  EVANGELIST 
WEEK  DAY  SESSION 
THE  FIRST  CHRISTIAN  MARTYR 
Acts,  chs.  6,  7 

A  great  religious  revival  began  on  the  Day  of  Pente¬ 
cost.  From  that  time  the  Christian  Church  began  to 
grow  rapidly.  The  utmost  good  will  existed  among 
the  members  of  the  newly  organized  Church.  So  deep 
was  the  sense  of  fellowship  that  many  of  these  early 
Christians  sold  their  property  and  put  their  money  into 
a  common  fund  from  which  any  member  of  the  Church 
could  draw  in  case  of  need.  We  admire  the  splendid 
spirit  of  friendship  which  prompted  these  early  Chris¬ 
tians  to  put  their  money  into  a  common  fund,  but  it  is 
not  surprising  to  learn  that  trouble  arose  concerning  the 
distribution  of  this  money. 

The  First  Deacons  Appointed.  Acts  6:1-6.  Many 
Jews  had  left  Palestine  to  dwell  in  other  lands.  These 
Jews  with  their  descendants  had  for  the  most  part  ceased 
to  speak  the  Aramaic  language  spoken  by  the  Jews  of 
Palestine.  Most  of  them  spoke  the  Greek  language  and 
they  were  therefore  called  Grecian  Jews.  Many  of  these 
Grecian  Jews  came  back  to  Jerusalem  to  the  great  feasts 
of  the  Jewish  people  and  some  of  them  again  took  up 
their  residence  in  Palestine.  Some  of  these  Grecian  Jews 
had  become  Christians,  so  there  Ayere  both  Palestinian 
Jews,  or  Hebrews,  as  they  are  called  in  The  Acts,  and 
Grecian  Jews  in  the  Christian  Church. 

The  Grecian  Jews  who  had  become  Christians  com¬ 
plained  that  their  widows  were  not  receiving  a  just  share 
of  the  money  which  was  held  by  the  Church  as  a  com¬ 
mon  fund.  When  these  complaints  reached  the  ears  of 
the  apostles,  they  called  the  Church  together.  The 
Church  had  grown  so  much  that  there  was  now  a  great 
multitude  of  believers.  The  apostles  explained  to  their 

171 


172  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


brethren  that  it  would  not  be  wise  for  the  twelve  dis¬ 
ciples  to  give  up  their  work  of  preaching  in  order  to 
attend  to  such  matters  as  the  distribution  of  the  funds 
intended  for  the  needy.  They  recommended  that  seven 
men  who  were  “full  of  the  Spirit  and  of  wisdom”  be 
chosen  to  attend  to  this  task.  So  seven  men  were  elected 
from  the  congregation.  After  they  were  chosen,  they 
were  ordained  to  their  new  office  by  prayer  and  by  the 
apostles’  laying  their  hands  upon  them.  In  this  chapter 
we  are  to  study  about  two  of  these  first  deacons  of  the 
Church. 

Rapid  Growth  of  the  Church.  Acts  6 :7.  Having  thus 
settled  their  misunderstandings,  these  early  Christians 
turned  with  renewed  zeal  to  their  task  of  winning  con¬ 
verts  to  the  Christian  faith.  The  Church  entered  upon 
a  period  of  rapid  development.  The  account  says  that 
the  number  of  the  disciples  in  Jerusalem  “multiplied 
.  .  .  exceedingly.”  Many  who  held  positions  of  re¬ 
sponsibility  became  followers  of  Jesus.  We  are  told  that 
“a  great  company  of  the  priests  were  obedient  to  the 
faith.”  But  this  period  of  peace  and  prosperity  came  to 
a  sudden  end. 

Stephen  Accused  of  Blasphemy.  Acts  6:8-15.  Among 
the  seven  men  chosen  to  superintend  the  distribution  of 
alms  was  a  man  named  Stephen.  He  was  probably  him¬ 
self  a  Grecian  Jew  since  the  name,  Stephen,  is  a  Greek 
name.  He  is  named  first  in  the  list  of  deacons  and  he 
had  probably  been  chosen  because  he  was  a  man  of 
ability  and  forceful  character.  Stephen  was  a  preacher 
as  well  as  a  distributor  of  alms.  Some  of  the  Greek¬ 
speaking  Jews  who  had  not  become  Christians  became 
greatly  enraged  at  the  preaching  of  Stephen.  They 
began  by  denying  the  truth  of  certain  things  which 
Stephen  said  in  some  of  his  addresses.  Getting  the  worst 
of  the  argument,  they  became  still  more  enraged  and 
going  to  the  scribes  and  elders,  they  succeeded  in  per¬ 
suading  them  that  Stephen  was  a  dangerous  man.  He 
was  seized  and  brought  before  the  sanhedrin.  They 
accused  him  of  speaking  against  the  Temple  and  the  law 
of  Moses.  They  said  that  Stephen  had  declared  that 
Jesus  would  destroy  the  Temple  and  change  the  customs 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  173 


which  Moses  had  delivered  to  the  Jews.  They  hired 
certain  witnesses  to  swear  that  they  had  heard  Stephen 
speak  blasphemous  words  against  Moses  and  against 
God. 

Stephen’s  Address  Before  the  Council.  Acts  7 :1“53. 
Having  heard  the  charges  against  Stephen,  the  high 
priest  turned  to  him  and  asked,  “Are  these  things  so?” 
Stephen’s  reply  to  the  high  priest’s  question  is  a  master¬ 
piece  of  argumentative  eloquence.  Beginning  with 
Abraham  he  sketched  God’s  dealings  with  the  Jewish 
people.  He  showed  how  from  the  time  of  Moses,  the 
hope  of  a  Redeemer  had  had  a  place  in  the  thinking  of 
the  Hebrew  people.  He  showed  how  the  Jews  had  been 
slow  to  believe  and  obey  Moses  and  the  other  leaders 
whom  God  had  sent  to  them  and  had  rebelled  against 
Jehovah,  their  God.  He  quoted  from  the  prophets  to 
show  that  God  is  everywhere  existing  in  power  and 
authority  and  was  not  confined  to  a  dwelling  place  in 
the  Temple. 

Stephen  never  finished  his  address.  Having  reached 
this  point  in  his  argument,  he  seems  to  have  broken  off 
his  speech  to  hurl  indignant  and  scathing  accusations 
into  the  very  faces  of  his  accusers:  “Ye  stiff-necked  and 
uncircumcised  in  heart  and  ears,  ye  do  always  resist  the 
Holy  Spirit :  as  your  fathers  did,  so  do  ye.  Which  of  the 
prophets  did  not  your  fathers  persecute?  and  they  killed 
them  that  showed  before  of  the  coming  of  the  Righteous 
One ;  of  whom  ye  have  now  become  betrayers  and  mur¬ 
derers  ;  ye  who  received  the  law  as  it  was  ordained  by 
angels,  and  kept  it  not.” 

Stephen’s  Arguments  Answered  by  Mob  Violence. 

Acts  7 :54-60.  When  the  enemies  of  Stephen  heard  this 
fearless  accusation,  they  were  aroused  to  a  frenzy  of 
hatred.  The  Bible  account  says,  “They  were  cut  to  the 
heart,  and  they  gnashed  on  him  with  their  teeth.” 
Stephen  knew  that  his  end  had  come.  Turning  his  face 
away  from  the  turbulent  mob,  he  gazed  upward  and 
caught  visions  of  that  God  who  is  ever  standing  “within 
the  shadows,  keeping  watch  above  his  own.”  He  cried 
out,  “Behold,  I  see  the  heavens  opened,  and  the  Son  of 
man  standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God.”  With  a  great 


174  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


shout,  the  mob  stopped  their  ears  and  rushed  upon 
Stephen.  Dragging  him  outside  the  city,  they  stoned 
him.  There  was  in  the  mob  a  young  man  named  Saul. 
He  kept  watch  over  the  garments  of  those  who  were 
stoning  Stephen.  Stephen’s  last  words  were  a  prayer  for 
mercy  on  those  who  were  taking  his  life.  Falling  upon 
his  knees,  he  cried  out,  “Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit.” 
Then  he  added,  “Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge.” 
Having  said  this,  he  “fell  asleep.” 

“The  martyr  first,  whose  eagle  eye 
Could  pierce  beyond  the  grave, 

Who  saw  his  Master  in  the  sky, 

And  called  on  him  to  save: 

Like  him,  with  pardon  on  his  tongue 
In  midst  of  mortal  pain, 

He  prayed  for  them  that  did  the  wrong: 

Who  follows  in  his  train?” 

WibkiAM  Ambrose:  Shedd:  a  Twentieth  Century 

Martyr 

Late  in  July,  1918,  Turkish  troops  and  wild  bands  of 
Kurds  moved  south  to  attack  the  city  of  Urumia,  Persia. 
Dr.  William  Ambrose  Shedd,  American  missionary  in 
Urumia,  had  been  placed  in  charge  of  American  relief  in 
that  city  and  had  been  made  the  representative  of  the 
American  Government  in  that  part  of  Persia.  Urumia  is 
the  home  of  thousands  of  Assyrian  and  Armenian  Chris¬ 
tians.  It  was  the  destruction  of  these  Christians  which 
the  Turks  and  Kurds  had  in  mind  as  they  advanced  upon 
Urumia.  Dr.  Shedd  urged  the  Armenians  and  Assyrians 
to  arm  themselves  and  to  resist  the  advance  of  the 
enemy.  He  knew  that  British  troops  from  Mesopotamia 
were  on  their  way  to  the  succor  of  the  city  and  believed 
that  by  a  stout  resistance  the  city  could  be  held  until 
these  troops  should  arrive. 

As  the  enemy  drew  near  the  city,  however,  a  wild 
panic  seized  the  people.  They  piled  their  possessions 
into  wagons  and  carts  and  a  rabble  of  fugitives  began 
to  pour  forth  upon  the  roads  leading  south  from  the  city. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Shedd  were  almost  the  last  to  leave. 
Hardly  had  they  departed  from  Urumia,  when  the  Turks 
and  Kurds  came  pouring  into  the  city.  They  imme- 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  175 

diately  began  to  plunder  and  then  they  set  fire  to  the 
dwellings  they  had  looted.  It  was  not  long  before  the 
fleeing  Assyrians  and  Armenians  heard  the  thunder  of 
cannon  in  their  rear.  The  southward  march  became  a 
panic-stricken  flight.  The  people  threw  away  their 
goods  and  some  abandoned  their  children.  Little  babes, 
left  alone  by  the  roadside,  wailed  in  the  darkness  as  the 
fugitive  host  swept  by.  Dr.  Shedd  gathered  a  few  of 
the  men,  collected  arms  and  ammunition,  and  with  this 
meager  force  defended  the  rear  of  the  fleeing  host.  Gal¬ 
loping  from  point  to  point  on  his  horse,  he  encouraged 
the  defenders.  He  was  a  conspicuous  mark  for  the 
Turks  and  Kurds  and  bullets  flew  thick  about  him,  but 
he  was  unharmed.  Night  and  day,  without  sleep  and 
with  little  food,  he  kept  guard  at  the  rear  of  the  fleeing 
multitude. 

The  enemy  were  constantly  increasing  in  numbers  and 
it  seemed  that  they  must  soon  overcome  the  little  handful 
of  defenders  and  fall  upon  the  fleeing  people.  The  horror 
of  their  impending  fate  added  speed  to  the  fleeing  hosts 
and  gave  strength  to  the  brave  little  band  fighting  in 
desperate  energy  against  fearful  odds.  Then  the  hearts 
of  Dr.  Shedd  and  his  helpers  were  gladdened  by  the 
sight  of  khaki-clad  soldiers  hurrying  to  their  assistance. 
There  were  only  nine  of  the  British  soldiers,  but  they 
had  three  machine  guns  and  with  these  reenforcements 
the  enemy  were  held  at  bay  until  further  help  arrived. 

As  soon  as  the  immediate  danger  was  over,  Dr.  Shedd 
began  to  feel  the  effects  of  the  awful  strain  he  had  been 
under  for  so  many  hours.  The  heat  of  the  August  days 
had  been  terrific  and  he  began  to  show  symptoms  of 
sunstroke.  Signs  of  Asiatic  cholera  began  to  appear. 
He  soon  became  violently  ill.  Mrs.  Shedd  cared  for  him 
the  best  she  could,  but  they  must  keep  moving  and  the 
rude  vehicle  in  which  the  sick  man  rode  had  a  rocky 
pathway  to  follow.  A  British  surgeon  was  at  last  se¬ 
cured,  but  his  help  was  found  insufficient  to  give  the 
stricken  missionary  permanent  relief.  In  the  early  morn¬ 
ing  the  cart  in  which  Dr.  Shedd  was  being  carried  was 
turned  off  the  road  for  a  little  while,  for  the  watchers 
saw  that  the  end  of  their  leader’s  life  had  come.  When  the 


176  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


missionary  had  ceased  to  breathe,  the  British  soldiers 
scraped  a  shallow  grave  beside  a  great  rock,  scattering 
dry  grass  over  the  broken  ground  to  hide  the  spot  from 
the  pursuing  enemy  who  would  not  only  destroy  the 
living  but  even  desecrate  the  graves  of  the  dead. 

Dr.  Shedd  will  long  be  remembered  by  the  Assyrians 
and  Armenians  whom  he  saved  from  destruction  by  his 
heroic  leadership.  Their  opinion  of  him  is  well  expressed 
by  the  words  of  an  Assyrian  sheik  who  said :  “He  bore 
the  burdens  of  the  whole  nation  upon  his  shoulders  to 
the  last  breath  of  his  life.  As  long  as  we  obeyed  his 
advice  and  followed  his  lead  we  were  safe  and  pros¬ 
perous,  but  when  we  ceased  to  do  that  destruction  came 
upon  us.  He  was,  and  ever  will  be,  the  Moses  of  the 
Assyrian  people.”  Adapted  from  “The  Book  of  Mis¬ 
sionary  Heroes,”  by  Basil  Mathews. 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

AN  ENTHUSIASTIC  EVANGELIST  OF  THE  EARLY 

CHURCH 

Acts  6 :5 ;  8 :4-40 ;  21 :8,  9 

A  great  persecution  of  the  Christians  followed  the 
stoning  of  Stephen.  Under  the  leadership  of  Saul,  a 
systematic  effort  was  made  to  exterminate  the  new  reli¬ 
gion.  Men  and  women  were  seized  in  their  homes,  cast 
into  prison,  tried  before  the  courts,  condemned  and 
executed.  The  apostles  of  Jesus  stood  steadfastly  at  their 
posts  of  duty,  but  many  others  of  the  Christians  fled 
from  that  city  into  the  distant  regions  of  Judea  and  into 
Samaria.  The  persecution  was  a  blessing  in  disguise, 
for  the  fugitive  Christians  had  not  been  silenced  by  their 
persecutors.  Wherever  they  went,  they  continued  to 
preach  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  so  it  came  to  pass  that 
the  persecution,  instead  of  destroying  Christianity,  only 
caused  it  to  be  scattered  broadcast  over  most  of 
Palestine. 

Philip  Preaches  in  Samaria.  Acts  8:4-13.  Among  the 
seven  deacons  appointed  to  superintend  the  distribution 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  177 


of  alms  among  the  Christians  was  a  man  named  Philip. 
He  was  probably  a  Greek-speaking  Jew  like  Stephen. 
Philip  was  one  of  those  who  left  Jerusalem  at  the  time 
of  the  persecution.  He  went  to  the  city  of  Samaria. 
Immediately  he  began  to  preach  Christ  to  the  Samar¬ 
itans.  This  act  of  Philip’s  shows  us  that  he  was  a  bold 
and  enthusiastic  Christian.  Up  to  this  time  none  of  the 
disciples  had  preached  to  Gentiles.  Philip  had  good 
grounds  for  his  course  of  conduct,  however,  for  Jesus 
had  commanded  his  followers  to  “make  disciples  of  all 
the  nations”  and  Jesus  himself  had  spent  a  number  of 
days  in  a  Samaritan  village  teaching  the  Samaritans 
concerning  the  Kingdom. 

Philip’s  work  in  Samaria  was  very  successful.  We  are 
told  that  “the  multitudes  gave  heed  with  one  accord  unto 
the  things  that  were  spoken  by  Philip.”  We  know  from 
the  account  given  by  John  that  the  Samaritans,  as  well 
as  the  Jews,  believed  in  a  coming  Messiah.  Indeed  they 
seem  to  have  held  a  purer  conception  concerning  the 
nature  and  work  of  the  Messiah  than  most  of  the  Jews 
held.  The  Samaritans  believed  that  the  Messiah  was 
to  be  a  great  teacher.  The  woman  by  the  well  of  Sychar 
said  to  Jesus,  “I  know  that  the  Messiah  cometh  .  .  .  :  when 
he  is  come,  he  will  declare  unto  us  all  things.”  The 
Samaritan  villagers,  after  they  had  seen  Jesus  and  heard 
his  teachings,  said  to  the  woman  who  had  talked  with 
Jesus  by  the  well,  “Now  we  believe,  not  because  of  thy 
speaking:  for  we  have  heard  for  ourselves,  and  know  that 
this  is  indeed  the  Saviour  of  the  world,”  John  4:25,  42. 

We  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  to  learn  that  Philip’s 
message  concerning  a  Saviour  should  have  been  accepted 
by  many  in  Samaria.  We  are  told  that  “when  they 
believed  Philip  preaching  good  tidings  concerning  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  were 
baptized.” 

There  was  a  certain  wonder-worker  named  Simon  who 
had  gained  great  influence  in  Samaria.  This  man  had 
used  the  methods  of  the  fortune  teller  and  the  necro¬ 
mancer  to  fool  the  people  and  to  make  them  believe  that 
he  was  a  person  of  mysterious  power.  Even  Simon  was 
impressed  by  the  message  of  Philip  and  became  a  pro- 


178  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


fessed  believer  in  Christ.  He  probably  realized  that 
Philip  was  not,  like  himself,  a  deceiver  of  the  people,  but 
had  a  message  of  truth  and  a  power  that  was  real. 

Peter  and  John  Visit  Samaria.  Acts  8:14-25.  When 
the  Christians  in  Jerusalem  heard  of  Philip’s  successes 
in  Samaria,  they  were  glad  and  they  sent  Peter  and 
John  to  Samaria  to  help  in  the  work  which  Philip  had 
so  well  begun.  When  Simon  saw  the  power  of  Peter 
and  John,  he  offered  to  give  them  money,  saying,  “Give 
me  also  this  power,  that  on  whomsoever  I  lay  my  hands, 
he  may  receive  the  Holy  Spirit.”  Peter  sternly  rebuked 
Simon  telling  him  that  he  had  “neither  part  nor  lot  in 
this  matter”  and  that  his  heart  was  “not  right  before 
God.”  Simon  had  tried  to  secure  a  place  of  prominence 
and  power  among  the  Christians  by  the  use  of  money; 
therefore,  attempts  of  this  kind  have  come  to  be  called 
“simony.” 

Peter  and  John  preached  for  a  time  in  the  city  of 
Samaria  and  before  returning  to  Jerusalem  they  made 
a  tour  through  the  surrounding  country  preaching  in 
the  Samaritan  villages.  Through  the  work  of  Philip 
and  these  two  disciples,  Christianity  was  firmly  planted 
in  the  land  of  the  Samaritans. 

Philip  and  the  Ethiopian.  Acts  8:26-40.  Under  God’s 
direction  Philip  departed  from  Samaria  and  followed 
the  highway  which  leads  down  from  Jerusalem  to  Gaza. 
As  Philip  was  walking  along  the  road,  a  chariot  came 
in  sight.  In  this  chariot  was  an  Ethiopian  who  was  a 
high  official  in  the  government  of  Candace,  queen  of 
Ethiopia.  He  had  been  up  to  Jerusalem  to  worship, 
probably  at  one  of  the  great  feasts  of  the  Jews.  He 
must  have  been  a  Jewish  proselyte,  that  is,  a  Gentile 
who  had  learned  about  the  God  of  the  Jews  and  had 
become  a  believer  in  the  Jewish  religion.  God  put  it 
into  the  mind  of  Philip  to  draw  near  to  the  chariot. 
Philip  was  such  an  enthusiastic  Christian  that  he  was 
ready  to  grasp  every  opportunity  to  tell  people  about 
Christ  and  was  ready  to  talk  on  the  subject  even  with 
a  distinguished-looking  stranger  of  another  race  and 
from  a  distant  land. 

As  Philip  drew  near,  he  saw  that  the  stranger  was 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  179 


reading  from  a  book.  He  was  reading  aloud  and  to 
Philip’s  surprise  he  heard  from  the  stranger’s  lips  the 
familiar  words  of  Isaiah’s  sublime  prophecy  concerning 
the  suffering  Servant  of  Jehovah.  Philip  was  now  all 
eager  enthusiasm.  He  ran  to  the  chariot  and  said  to 
the  Ethiopian,  “Understandest  thou  what  thou  readest?” 
The  Ethiopian  replied,  “How  can  I,  except  some  one 
shall  guide  me?”  The  officer  had  just  reached  the  verse 
which  says : 

“He  was  led  as  a  sheep  to  the  slaughter; 

And  as  a  lamb  before  his  shearers  is  dumb, 

So  he  openeth  not  his  mouth: 

In  his  humiliation  his  judgment  was  taken  away: 

His  generation  who  shall  declare? 

For  his  life  is  taken  from  the  earth.”  Isa.  53:7. 

The  officer  had  evidently  been  puzzling  over  the  pas¬ 
sage,  for  he  said  to  Philip,  “I  pray  thee,  of  whom  speak- 
eth  the  prophet  this?  of  himself,  or  of  some  other?” 
Then  beginning  with  the  verse  which  had  puzzled  the 
Ethiopian,  Philip  “preached  unto  him  Jesus.”  He  ex¬ 
plained  to  the  Ethiopian  how  completely  the  words  of 
Isaiah  had  been  fulfilled  in  the  sufferings  and  death  of 
Christ. 

This  black  man  from  the  far-away  countries  of  the 
Upper  Nile  had  heard  some  rumor  of  Jehovah,  the  God 
of  the  Jews,  and  he  had  “followed  the  gleam,”  rejoicing 
in  every  new  discovery  of  spiritual  truth.  He  was 
quickly  persuaded  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah  and  the 
Saviour  of  whom  Isaiah  had  spoken.  He  was  ready  to 
become  a  professed  follower  of  Jesus.  As  they  drew 
near  the  pool  of  water  beside  the  road,  he  said  to  Philip, 
“Behold,  here  is  water;  what  doth  hinder  me  to  be  bap¬ 
tized?”  So  they  stopped  the  chariot  and  Philip  baptized 
him. 

With  a  great  joy  in  his  soul,  the  Ethiopian  then  went 
on  his  way  and  Philip  never  saw  him  again.  Nor  does 
he  again  appear  in  the  pages  of  the  New  Testament. 
What  may  have  resulted  from  this  conversion  of  a  col¬ 
ored  official  on  the  Jerusalem-Gaza  highway  it  is  hard 
for  us  to  conceive.  We  know  that  in  the  very  early 
Christian  centuries  there  was  a  Christian  church  in  Ethi- 


180  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


opia  and  that  Abyssinia  has  remained  a  Christian  coun¬ 
try  to  this  day.  The  Christianity  of  the  African  con¬ 
tinent  probably  dates  from  that  day  when  an  enthusiastic 
and  consecrated  follower  of  Jesus  made  bold  to  draw  near 
to  a  stranger  and  talk  with  him  concerning  the  world’s 
Redeemer. 

A  Godly  Family.  Acts  21 :8,  9.  After  his  conversation 
with  the  Ethiopian,  Philip  went  on  his  way.  He  preached 
in  a  number  of  the  cities  on  the  maritime  plain  of  Pales¬ 
tine  and  finally  came  to  the  city  of  Cxsarea.  Here  he 
settled  down,  doubtless  giving  the  rest  of  his  life  to 
preaching  and  teaching  in  this  city  by  the  sea.  Many  years 
after  the  events  which  have  been  recounted  in  this  lesson, 
Paul  came  to  Caesarea  and  Philip  was  still  there.  Perhaps 
Philip  had  given  up  the  work  of  a  traveling  evangelist 
because  of  his  family.  He  was  living  with  his  four 
daughters  when  Paul  visited  him.  We  are  told  that 
these  four  daughters  were  prophetesses.  This  probably 
means  that  they,  like  their  father,  were  earnest  and  en¬ 
thusiastic  followers  of  the  Christ.  A  prophetess  is  a 
woman  who  reveals  God  to  people  and  speaks  God’s 
messages  for  him.  It  adds  much  to  our  conception  of 
the  character  of  Philip  to  know  that  he  was  a  father  who 
brought  up  his  children  religiously. 

Thi;  Daring  Enthusiasm  or  David  Livingstone 

The  great  leaders  of  the  human  race  have  been  people 
of  daring  enthusiasm.  Especially  is  this  true  of  those 
who  have  by  their  zeal  and  consecration  had  a  part  in 
the  spread  of  the  Christian  religion  in  the  world  and  the 
overthrow  of  the  enormous  evils  with  which  Christianity 
has  had  to  grapple  from  time  to  time.  David  Livingstone 
was  one  of  these  people  of  unquenchable  enthusiasm. 
Flardships  could  not  dampen  his  zeal  and  no  danger 
could  cause  him  to  turn  back  from  the  great  enterprise 
he  had  undertaken. 

One  of  the  great  ambitions  of  Livingstone  was  to  sup¬ 
press  the  slave  trade.  The  awful  ravages  of  the  slave 
catchers  aroused  in  him  an  indomitable  determination 
to  see  the  end  of  the  traffic.  There  were  times  when, 
in  exploring  the  African  rivers,  the  paddle  wheels  of  his 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  181 


little  steamboat  became  clogged  with  the  bodies  of  black 
people,  men,  women,  and  children  who  had  been  killed 
by  the  Arab  slavers.  He  found  whole  villages  without 
inhabitant,  all  the  people  who  had  not  been  killed  having 
been  carried  away  as  slaves. 

Once  as  Livingstone  and  his  Negro  companions  drew 
near  an  African  village,  they  were  taken  for  slave  hunt¬ 
ers  by  the  villagers.  Arrows  whistled  about  the  heads 
of  Livingstone  and  his  followers.  The  companions  of 
Livingstone  were  about  to  paddle  away  but  Livingstone 
forbade  them  to  retreat.  He  ordered  them  to  row  the 
boat  nearer  to  the  land  and  soon  he  leaped  overboard. 
The  water  was  up  to  his  waist  but  he  waded  ashore. 
Holding  up  his  hands,  he  told  the  villagers  that  he  had 
not  come  to  them  as  a  slave  catcher.  He  rolled  up  his 
sleeves,  showing  them  the  white  skin  of  his  arms  and 
asking  them  if  the  men  who  came  for  slaves  were  of  the 
same  color  that  he  was.  The  Negroes  who  had  come 
with  Livingstone  expected  to  see  him  fall  with  an  arrow 
or  spear  through  his  body,  but  to  their  surprise  the 
villagers  did  not  harm  him.  Because  of  many  incidents 
of  this  character  the  Negroes  called  Dr.  Livingstone 
‘‘The  White  Man  Who  Would  Go  On.” 

The  labors  of  Livingstone  and  the  accounts  which  he 
sent  to  Europe  from  Africa  led  civilized  nations  to  see 
that  slavery  was  “the  open  sore  of  the  world.”  At  the 
command  of  the  British  Empire  and  other  nations,  slav¬ 
ery  has  ceased  in  Africa  and  throughout  the  whole  vast 
extent  of  that  great  continent  to-day  no  person  dares  to 
lay  the  shackles  of  slavery  upon  another. 

Adapted  from  “The  Book  of  Missionary  Heroes,”  by 
Basil  Matthews. 

The:  Lesson  Prayer  ' 

Make  us  conscious,  our  Father  in  heaven,  of  the  fact 
that  many  of  the  privileges  we  enjoy  have  been  bought 
by  the  toil  and  devotion  of  those  who  have  lived  in  the 
world  before  we  were  born.  Give  us  a  deep  sense  of 
gratitude  to  thee  because  thou  hast  raised  up  these  de¬ 
voted  souls  to  bless  the  human  race.  Give  us  a  sense  of 
our  obligation  to  thee.  Help  us  to  realize  that  we  owe 
all  that  we  have  to  thee.  Forgive  us  if  we  have  been 


182  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 

thoughtless  and  ungrateful.  Forgive  us  if  our  labors  for 
thy  cause  have  been  meager  and  lacking  in  enthusiasm. 
We  would  learn  from  the  early  Christians  how  to  serve 
thee  enthusiastically.  We  ask  these  blessings  not  only 
for  ourselves  but  for  all  who  profess  to  be  followers  of 
thy  Son.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“Thine  For  Ever!  God  of  Love.”  “Studies  of  Familiar 
Hymns,”  page  253. 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

ENTHUSIASTIC  CHRISTIANITY 
Acts  2:41-47;  4:32-35 

As  we  read  the  opening  chapters  of  The  Acts,  we  are 
impressed  with  the  enthusiasm  of  the  early  Christians. 
They  were  so  enthusiastic  for  their  religion  and  the  new 
fellowship  between  all  who  believed  Christ  that  they 
sold  their  property  and  placed  the  proceeds  in  a  common 
fund  to  be  used  by  any  who  had  need  among  them. 
They  continued  “stedfastly  with  one  accord  in  the  tem¬ 
ple.”  Meetings  for  prayer  were  held  daily.  They  were 
on  fire  with  enthusiasm  to  make  the  gospel  message 
known.  What  were  the  sources  of  this  enthusiasm? 
What  had  transformed  the  followers  of  Jesus  from  a 
little  band  of  fear-filled  people  into  a  band  of  cheerful, 
forceful,  and  enthusiastic  messengers  of  God’s  Kingdom  ? 

1.  The  change  was  due  to  a  new  and  wonderful  faith 
which  had  come^  into  their  lives.  They  had  come  to  be¬ 
lieve  that  Jesus  had  risen  from  the  dead  and  that  all 
power  had  been  given  into  the  hand  of  their  Lord. 
Logical-minded  students  of  history  are  pretty  well  agreed 
that  there  is  no  explanation  of  the  Early  Church  except 
in  the  fact  of  Christ’s  resurrection. 

2.  The  change  was  due,  also,  to  a  deep  religious 
experience.  We  cannot  explain  fully  the  descent  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  at  Pentecost,  because  we  cannot  understand 
it  fully,  but  we  may  be  sure  that  these  early  Christians 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  183 


had  come  to  know  God  in  some  new  way  and  that  this 
deeper  religious  experience  manifested  itself  in  changed 
lives  and  changed  attributes  of  character. 

3.  The  change  was  due  in  part  to  changed  circum¬ 
stances.  They  were  no  longer  a  handful  but  a  great  and 
growing  company.  There  is  a  very  real  enthusiasm 
resulting  from  great  and  increasing  numbers. 

4.  Their  enthusiasm  was  due  in  part  to  their  successes. 
They  had  undertaken  things  and  accomplished  things. 
Peter  had  preached  a  sermon  which  led  to  thousands 
of  conversions.  The  disciples  had  dared  to  speak  boldly 
in  defense  of  the  faith  before  the  highest  officials  of 
the  nation. 

5.  They  were  confident  that  God  was  with  them. 
His  presence  had  been  felt  in  their  lives  and  had  been 
seen  in  the  protective  circumstances  thrown  about  them. 

Some;  Truths  from  the:  Ee:ssons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  early  Christians  helped  them  to 
win  converts  for  Christianity.  If  they  had  gone  about 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  a  half-hearted  way,  we 
must  believe  that  the  results  would  have  been  very 
different. 

Enthusiasm  for  the  cause  of  Christ  helped  the  early 
Christians  to  settle  their  misunderstandings  speedily  and 
amicably.  If  they  had  not  been  so  keenly  interested  in 
winning  others  to  Christ,  they  would  probably  have 
had  serious  divisions  over  the  distribution  of  funds  to 
the  needy. 

In  his  great  address  Stephen  showed  that  he  was  a 
Bible  student.  Enthusiasm  is  a  necessary  element  in  the 
personality  of  a  great  scholar. 

If  Philip  had  not  been  full  of  enthusiasm  for  Chris¬ 
tianity,  he  would  not  have  approached  the  chariot  of  the 
Ethiopian  and  talked  with  him  about  religious  matters. 
Thus  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  Africa  might 
have  been  long  delayed. 

Simon,  the  sorcerer,  was  more  anxious  for  power  for 
himself  than  he  was  for  the  advancement  of  Christ’s 


184  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOELOWERS  OF  JESUS 

Kingdom.  He  was  a  professed  Christian,  but  he  was 
not  an  enthusiastic  Christian. 

The  Ethiopian  is  a  good  illustration  of  the  enthusiastic 
searcher  after  truth.  He  lived  in  a  land  far  away  from 
Palestine,  but  he  followed  enthusiastically  every  clue 
which  promised  to  lead  him  to  the  truth  and  at  last  he 
found  it. 

Review  Questions 

1.  Tell  of  the  events  which  led  to  the  appointment 
of  the  first  deacons. 

2.  Give  reasons  for  the  rapid  growth  of  the  Early 
Church. 

3.  What  were  the  charges  against  Stephen? 

4.  Give  the  substance  of  Stephen’s  arguments  in  his 
address  before  the  council. 

5.  Tell  the  story  of  Dr.  Shedd’s  last  days. 

6.  In  what  way  was  the  persecution  of  the  Christians 
a  help  to  the  spread  of  Christianity? 

7.  Why  was  Samaria  a  city  peculiarly  responsive  to 
the  gospel? 

8.  Tell  the  story  of  Philip  and  the  Ethiopian. 

9.  Why  is  enthusiasm  apt  to  be  a  leading  trait  of 
character  in  people  who  accomplish  great  undertakings? 

10.  Tell  what  you  can  of  the  life  of  David  Living¬ 
stone. 

Bible  Verses 

Deut.  4:9;  Josh.  1:7;  22:5;  H  Chron.  31:20,  21;  Prov. 
2:3-5;  Eccl.  9:10;  Matt.  22:37;  H  Cor.  8:7;  I  Tim.  4:15; 
H  Peter  3  :14. 

Study  Topics 

1.  The  Enthusiasm  of  Philip  the  disciple.  John 
1 :45,  46. 

2.  How  Jesus  Tested  the  Enthusiasm  of  Those 
Whom  He  Chose  as  Disciples.  Matt.  8:18-22. 

3.  Paul’s  Enthusiasm  for  the  Cause  of  Christ.  Phil. 
3:7-14. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  185 


4.  Shallow  Enthusiasm  Which  Cannot  Stand  the  Test 
of  Time  and  Adversity.  John  6:15,  60,  66. 

5.  Christ’s  Message  to  a  Church  Lacking  in  Enthu¬ 
siasm.  Rev.  3:15,  16. 

6.  Is  a  Lack  of  Enthusiasm  for  the  Church  a  Com¬ 
mon  Failing  of  Christians? 

7.  How  Can  We  Develop  Greater  Enthusiasm  for  the 
Church? 

8.  The  Importance  of  Enthusiasm  in  School  and 
College  Athletics. 

9.  The  Foundations  of  True  and  Lasting  Religious 
Enthusiasm.  (See  introduction  to  this  expressional 
lesson.) 

10.  Lack  of  Enthusiasm  One  of  the  Causes  of  the 
Failure  of  Judas.  John  12:1-8. 

Putting  thi:  Truths  ot  the:  Lesson  Into  Practice 

In  order  that  the  truths  studied  in  this  chapter  may 
find  expression  in  the  lives  of  the  pupils,  the  class  should 
undertake  some  project  of  importance.  As  this  project 
takes  form  and  progress  is  made  toward  the  accomplish¬ 
ment  of  the  goals  set,  enthusiasm  will  almost  inevitably 
result.  Some  undertakings  for  the  class  are  suggested 
here,  but  it  is  well  to  ask  for  suggestions  from  the 
pupils,  from  the  pastor  of  the  church,  from  the  Sunday- 
school  superintendent,  and  others. 

1.  The  furnishing  and  decorating  of  a  room  in  a 
hospital. 

2.  The  care  of  an  orphan  child  in  some  foreign- 
mission  land. 

3.  The  equipment  of  a  mission  Sunday  school  in 
some  frontier  section  of  our  own  country. 

4.  Part  or  entire  support  of  a  Sunday-school  mis¬ 
sionary. 

5.  The  increase  of  the  Intermediate  Department  of 
the  home  church  by  one  hundred  per  cent,  or  whatever 
increase  seems  best  to  be  undertaken. 

6.  The  bringing  of  a  definite  numl)er  of  young  people 
into  the  Church  at  the  next  Communion  service. 


CHAPTER  XV 

APOLEOS  AND  BARNABAS,  TWO  EARLY  CON¬ 
VERTS  TO  CHRISTIANITY 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

APOLLOS,  A  MAN  OF  GIANT  INTELLECT.  HOW 
THE  CHRISTIAN  RELIGION  INCREASES  THE 

POWER  TO  THINK 

Acts  18:24-28;  I  Cor.  1:12;  3:4,  5,  22;  4:6;  16:12; 

Titus  3 :13 

In  the  book  of  Genesis  we  are  told  that  “Jehovah  God 
formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into 
his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life ;  and  man  became  a  living 
soul.”  We  are  also  told  that  “out  of  the  ground  Jehovah 
God  formed  every  beast  of  the  field,  and  every  bird  of 
the  heavens.”  We  are  not  told  that  God  breathed  into 
these  latter  the  breath  of  life  in  such  a  way  as  to  cause 
them  to  become  living  souls.  The  truth  of  the  Bible 
statement  is  in  entire  harmony  with  what  we  know  about 
mankind  and  about  the  lower  forms  of  life.  Man  has 
a  power  to  think,  to  feel,  and  to  will,  which  is  entirely 
lacking  in  other  creatures.  This  is  a  part  of  what  the 
Bible  means  when  it  speaks  of  men  having  been  created 
in  the  image  of  God.  The  Christian  religion  has  power 
to  help  people  to  become  more  like  God,  their  Creator, 
in  the  power  to  think,  to  feel,  and  to  will.  In  this  chap¬ 
ter  we  are  to  see  how  this  truth  is  illustrated  in  the  lives 
of  some  of  the  first-century  Christians. 

Alexandria,  the  Home  City  of  Apollos.  Acts  18:24. 
In  332  B.c.  Alexander  the  Great  founded  a  city  on  the 
delta  of  the  Nile.  This  city  came  to  be  called  Alexan¬ 
dria  after  its  founder.  It  became  a  great  city,  next  in 
importance  to  Rome.  It  was  for  some  centuries  the 
intellectual  capital  of  the  world.  Many  Jews  settled 
there  and  a  certain  part  of  the  city  was  set  apart  for 
their  residence.  Learned  men  from  Greece  and  Asia 
Minor  came  to  Alexandria  to  live,  and  there  they  estab¬ 
lished  some  of  the  greatest  schools  and  libraries  of  the 


186 


Copyright  “International” 

STREET  SCENE  IN  ANTIOCH 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  187 


day.  The  Alexandrian  Jews  came  into  contact  with  the 
best  learning  of  the  Gentile  nations.  They  thus  became 
very  different  from  the  Jews  who  continued  to  live  in 
Palestine  and  who  refused  to  be  influenced  by  the  learn¬ 
ing  of  other  peoples.  Holding  to  the  great  truths  of 
their  religion,  they  yet  were  able  to  learn  much  from 
the  Greeks  and  others  with  whom  they  were  neighbors 
in  Alexandria.  These  Alexandrian  Jews  learned  to 
speak  the  Greek  language  and  in  time  practically  ceased 
to  speak  the  language  which  their  forefathers  had  spoken 
in  Palestine.  They  were  thus  led  to  translate,  for  the 
first  time,  the  Old  Testament  into  Greek. 

Education  and  Boyhood  of  Apollos.  Apollos  was 
born  in  Alexandria  and  spent  his  boyhood  and  youth 
there.  He  was  taught  the  Old  Testament  just  as  thor¬ 
oughly  as  were  the  pupils  in  the  schools  of  the  rabbis  in 
Jerusalem,  but  the  teachers  of  Apollos  were  not  so  nar¬ 
row  in  their  views  as  the  Jerusalem  teachers  were. 
Apollos  may  have  been  a  pupil  also  in  some  Greek  school 
of  rhetoric,  for  we  are  told  that  he  was  not  only  “mighty 
in  the  scriptures”  but  was  also  “an  eloquent  man.” 
Education  gives  the  individual  who  secures  it  a  power 
which  he  could  not  otherwise  possess  and  young  Apol¬ 
los,  during  these  school  days  in  Alexandria,  was  laying 
up  power  for  the  life  work  to  which  he  was  to  be  called 
in  the  providence  of  God. 

Apollos  Finds  New  Light  in  the  Teachings  of  John 
the  Baptist.  Acts  18:25.  It  was  fortunate  for  Apollos 
that  he  had  not  received  the  narrow  and  prejudiced 
type  of  religious  instruction  such  as  was  given  by  the 
rabbis  of  Jerusalem.  He  had  a  mind  which  was  open 
to  new  truths.  Some  rumors  of  John  the  Baptist  had 
reached  Alexandria  and  his  teachings  were  discussed 
by  the  Alexandrian  Jews.  John’s  emphasis  on  a  spirit¬ 
ual  Kingdom,  and  his  proclamation  that  the  Messiah 
should  be  a  “Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world,”  found  a  response  in  the  hearts  of  some  of 
the  Alexandrian  Jews.  Apollos  had  never  seen  John. 
He  probably  knew  little  of  what  John  had  taught,  but 
that  little  seemed  to  Apollos  to  be  a  better  light  than  he 
had  yet  found  and  he  followed  it.  Possibly  some  rumors 


188  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


concerning  Jesus  and  his  teachings  had  likewise  reached 
Alexandria  by  this  time  and  Apollos  may  have  thus 
caught  a  little  glimpse  of  “the  true  light,  even  the  light 
which  lighteth  every  man,  coming  into  the  world.” 

Apollos  Learns  More  About  Jesus.  Acts  18:26-28. 
Apollos  was  not  selfish  in  his  search  after  the  truth. 
As  soon  as  he  was  sure  of  some  new  and  helpful  fact 
of  the  spiritual  life,  he  went  out  and  enthusiastically 
told  others  about  it.  He  came  to  Ephesus  and  preached 
there.  Now  there  were  in  Ephesus  two  Jewish  people 
who  had  become  Christians.  These  two,  Aquila  and 
his  wife  Priscilla,  heard  Apollos  preach.  They  realized 
that  while  Apollos  spoke  the  truth,  he  did  not  yet  know 
much  about  the  life  and  the  teachings  of  Jesus.  So  they 
took  him  and  instructed  him  in  the  Christian  religion. 
Apollos  gladly  listened  to  this  information  and  then  went 
forth  still  better  equipped  for  his  work.  He  crossed  the 
sea  to  Achaia,  or  Greece,  where  his  learning  would 
make  him  especially  valuable  as  a  missionary  in  the  task 
of  winning  the  keenly  intellectual  Greeks  to  the  religion 
of  Jesus. 

A  Coworker  with  Paul.  Apollos  came  to  Corinth 
where  Paul  had  preached  before  him.  Paul  was  in  hearty 
sympathy  with  the  work  done  by  Apollos,  but  some  of 
the  Corinthians  seem  to  have  failed  to  realize  that  Paul 
and  Apollos  were  preaching  the  same  religion  and  the 
same  Saviour.  They  began  to  divide  into  factions. 
Some  said  they  were  followers  of  Paul ;  others  said  they 
were  followers  of  Apollos ;  still  others  claimed  to  be 
followers  of  others  of  the  disciples.  Paul  wrote  to  the 
church  at  Corinth  to  correct  these  notions.  He  told 
th^m  that  while  he  had  planted  the  Christian  faith  in 
Corinth  and  Apollos  had  watered  it,  God  was  the  one 
who  had  given  the  increase.  I  Cor.  3  :4,  5. 

Apollos  probably  gave  his  life  to  the  work  of  preach¬ 
ing  the  Christian  religion.  Many  years  after  he  had 
been  in  Corinth  we  hear  of  him  in  the  island  of  Crete. 
In  writing  to  Titus  who  was  in  charge  of  the  missionary 
work  in  Crete,  Paul  urges  Titus  to  “set  forward  Zenas 
the  lawyer  and  Apollos  on  their  journey  diligently,  that 
nothing  be  wanting  unto  them,”  Titus  3  :13. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  189 


The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  Many  Bible  students 
believe  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  written  by 
Apollos.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  evidence  for  such  a 
conclusion.  Its  author  must  have  been  a  scholarly  man. 
The  language  is  that  of  a  learned  and  eloquent  writer. 
The  author  of  the  epistle  was  perfectly  familiar  with  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  Jewish  methods  of  interpreting 
it,  and  yet  there  are  evidences  of  some  widening  influence 
such  as  the  schools  of  Alexandria  are  known  to  have 
given.  Above  all,  the  author  has  found  in  the  life  and 
teachings  of  Jesus  the  fulfillment  and  the  explanation  of 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  religion  of  the  Jews. 
Whether  the  author  was  Apollos  or  some  other  con¬ 
vert  from  Judaism,  we  can  see  in  this  wonderful  letter 
the  power  of  the  Christian  religion  to  increase  the  ability 
of  the  human  mind  to  think  thoughts  that  are  wide  and 
deep.  The  author  had  gained  an  understanding  of  the 
meaning  of  history  and  of  life  such  as  a  knowledge  of 
Jesus  as  the  Christ  alone  can  give. 

How  the:  Christian  Re:ivIGion  Incr^asds  the:  Powe:r 

To  Think 

We  have  seen  that  some  person  of  giant  intellect,  pos¬ 
sibly  Apollos,  wrote  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  and 
that  the  powers  of  mind  which  the  author  possessed, 
were  to  a  large  extent,  the  result  of  the  Christian  religion. 
The  fact  that  the  greatest  thinkers  of  our  day  are  found 
among  the  peoples  of  Christian  nations  needs  no  argu¬ 
ment.  Many  of  the  greatest  minds  have  realized  that 
they  owed  their  triumphs  in  the  intellectual  world  to 
religion.  Kepler,  the  great  astronomer,  said  that  he  had 
only  thought  God’s  thoughts  after  him.  Samuel  F.  B. 
Morse  insisted  that  the  first  telegram  sent  over  the  wires 
should  be,  ^‘What  hath  God  wrought !”  A  great  Amer¬ 
ican  statesman,  who  understood  better  than  almost  any 
other  man  of  his  day  the  principles  of  just  government 
said,  “Jesus  is  the  best  light  we  have  in  all  matters  of 
government.” 

How  does  the  Christian  religion  increase  the  power 
to  think?  We  may  not  be  able  to  answer  this  question 
fully,  for  it  is  probable  that  no  one  knows  all  the  reasons 


190  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


why  a  Christian  is  apt  to  think  more  clearly  and  more 
deeply  and  more  accurately  than  a  person  of  equal 
natural  ability  who  is  not  a  Christian.  There  are  sev¬ 
eral  reasons,  however,  which  are  fairly  plain  and  we 
shall  consider  a  few  of  these. 

The  Christian  religion  frees  the  mind  of  man  from 
hampering  superstitions.  Some  of  the  tribes  of  Africa 
believe  that  if  a  baby  cuts  an  upper  tooth  before  it  cuts 
a  lower  tooth,  the  father  of  the  child  will  surely  die 
within  a  few  hours  after  the  baby’s  tooth  appears.  Do 
you  think  people  can  think  accurately  on  any  subject 
when  their  minds  are  full  of  thousands  of  such  notions 
as  this?  The  religion  of  Jesus  teaches  us  that  our  lives 
and  fortunes  do  not  depend  upon  any  such  chance 
occurrences  as  that  which  we  have  mentioned.  It  teaches 
the  fatherhood  of  God — that  the  Creator  knows  all  about 
us  and  watches  over  us,  that  not  even  a  sparrow  falls 
to  the  ground  without  the  notice  of  God. 

The  Christian  religion  gives  that  self-control  neces¬ 
sary  to  deep  and  continuous  thinking.  Jesus  said,  “Every 
one  that  committeth  sin  is  the  bondservant  of  sin.”  If 
a  man  is  to  think  effectively,  he  must  be  master  of  him¬ 
self.  He  must  not  allow  a  fit  of  anger  to  come  in  and 
disturb  his  thought,  no  matter  how  great  the  annoyance 
may  be.  A  person  who  cannot  control  his  passions  is 
not  apt  to  have  the  ability  to  control  his  thoughts  so  as 
to  hold  his  mind  steadily  and  persistently  on  the  search 
after  truth. 

The  Christian  religion  leads  to  right  habits  of  life 
which  preserve  the  strength  of  the  body  and  thus  give 
the  mind  an  opportunity  to  reach  its  best  development. 

It  has  been  shown  that  almost  all  boys  who  develop  bad 
physical  habits,  such  as  smoking  cigarettes,  soon  fall 
behind  their  classes  in  school.  By  injuring  their  bodies 
they  inevitably  injure  their  minds.  The  Christian  reli¬ 
gion  says  to  all  what  Paul  said  to  his  young  friend, 
Timothy,  “Keep  thyself  pure.” 

The  Christian  religion  makes  profound  thought  pos¬ 
sible  by  adding  true  faith  to  our  intellectual  equipment. 

There  are  certain  great  truths  which  rest  on  faith  rather 
than  on  any  actual  demonstration  which  can  be  made 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  191 

of  their  truth.  Among'  these  truths  are  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  the  reality  of  prayer,  and  the  existence  of 
God.  The  person  who  lacks  faith  and  who  says  that  he 
cannot  believe  the  things  we  have  mentioned,  because 
they  cannot  be  proved  with  absolute  conclusiveness,  can 
never  think  very  deeply  on  most  of  the  great  problems 
of  existence. 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

BARNABAS,  THE  BIG-HEARTED.  HOW  THE  CHRIS¬ 
TIAN  RELIGION  INCREASES  THE 
POWER  TO  FEEL 

Acts  4:36,  37;  9:26-30;  11:19-30;  13:1-3;  15:36-41 

Among  the  first  converts  to  Christianity  was  a  man 
named  Joseph.  He  was  a  Jew,  a  member  of  the  tribe 
of  Levi,  but  he  had  been  born  in  the  island  of  Cyprus. 
Joseph  owned  a  field  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Jerusalem,  so  he  must  have  become  a  resident  of 
Palestine  at  the  time  of  his  conversion.  One  of  the 
first  acts  of  Joseph  after  he  became  a  Christian  was  to 
go  and  sell  his  land  and  bring  the  money  he  had  received 
for  it  to  the  disciples,  to  be  used  by  them  for  the  care 
of  any  who  might  be  in  need.  Money  has  been  called 
“the  acid  test”  of  our  religion  and  by  this  act  Joseph 
gave  good  evidence  that  his  conversion  was  genuine. 
The  disciples  soon  found  that  this  new  convert  was  a 
person  of  unselfish  and  kindly  disposition.  He  was 
always  thinking  of  the  comfort  of  other  people  and  was 
so  sympathetic  toward  those  in  trouble  that  the  disciples 
changed  his  name  to  Barnabas  which  means  “son  of 
consolation.” 

Generous  in  His  Friendships.  Acts  9:26-30.  Some 
time  after  his  conversion  to  Christianity,  Paul  came  to 
Jerusalem  where  he  had  so  bitterly  persecuted  the  fol¬ 
lowers  of  Jesus.  It  is  not  strange  that  the  Jerusalem 
Christians  were  afraid  and  suspicious  of  Paul.  They 
could  not  believe  that  he  was  now  a  disciple  of  Jesus. 
It  is  fortunate  that  Barnabas  was  then  in  Jerusalem. 
His  kindly  spirit  Jed  liim  to  have  confidence  in  Paul. 


192  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Barnabas  was  the  first  to  believe  that  Saul  the  persecutor 
had  become  Paul  the  apostle.  Barnabas  took  Paul  to  the 
apostles  and  told  them  of  the  wonderful  conversion  which 
Paul  had  experienced  on  the  road  to  Damascus  and  how 
he  had  preached  boldly  in  the  name  of  Jesus  in  the  city 
where  he  had  planned  to  persecute  the  Christians.  It  was 
the  fine  ability  of  Barnabas  to  feel  sympathy  with  all 
classes  of  people  which  made  him  so  useful  to  Paul  and 
to  the  Church  at  this  time. 

Yielding  the  Place  of  Leadership  to  His  Friend.  Acts 
11  :19-26.  The  Christians  were  scattered  far  and  wide 
by  the  persecution  which  arose  after  the  death  of 
Stephen.  Some  of  them  traveled  to  Phoenicia  on  the 
Mediterranean  coast  and  some  reached  the  island  of 
Cyprus.  Everywhere  these  fugitives  went,  they  preached 
the  gospel  of  Jesus.  At  first  they  preached  to  Jews  only, 
but  there  were  certain  Christians  who  went  to  Antioch 
and  who  began  to  preach  to  Greeks.  They  found  that 
the  Greeks  were  quite  as  ready  as  the  Jews  to  become 
followers  of  Jesus.  When  the  church  in  Jerusalem  heard 
of  the  encouraging  growth  of  the  Christian  religion  in 
Antioch,  they  sent  Barnabas  there.  Barnabas  saw  the 
great  opportunity  in  Antioch  for  the  establishment  of 
a  great  Christian  church.  If  he  had  been  a  selfish  man, 
he  would  probably  have  wished  to  be  the  leader  of  the 
movement  in  Antioch  and  thus  gain  for  himself  the  honor 
of  having  built  up  a  strong  and  important  church.  But 
Barnabas  was  not  that  kind  of  man ;  he  was  not  think¬ 
ing  of  his  own  honor  and  the  prominence  he  might  gain. 
He  thought  he  knew  of  a  man  who  was  just  the  kind  of 
leader  they  needed  in  Antioch,  so  he  went  to  Tarsus  and 
brought  Paul  back  with  him.  Paul  had  aroused  the 
hatred  of  the  Jerusalem  Jews  and  had  gone  away  to 
Tarsus,  his  native  city,  some  time  before.  If  it  had  not  been 
for  Barnabas,  Paul  might  have  labored  on  in  obscurity 
at  Tarsus  until  the  end  of  his  life.  Antioch  was  the 
kind  of  opportunity  Paul  needed  to  develop  his  powers 
and  to  put  him  in  touch  with  the  open  door  to  a  vast 
missionary  enterprise.  The  New  Testament  pays  this 
splendid  tribute  to  Barnabas  and  we  feel  that  he  deserved 
it;  “he  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
of  faith.” 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  193 


A  First-Century  Philanthropist.  Acts  11 :27-30.  About 
this  time  a  great  famine  came  to  the  countries  of  the 
then  known  world.  The  people  of  Judea,  especially 
those  living  in  Jerusalem,  were  naturally  the  first  to  feel 
the  effects  of  this  famine,  because  the  land  of  Judea  is 
barren  and  rocky  and  great  numbers  of  the  people  are 
never  far  from  starvation.  The  church  at  Antioch  had 
now  grown  to  be  a  great  church.  The  members  of 
the  Antioch  church  “determined  to  send  relief  unto  the 
brethren  that  dwelt  in  Judaea.”  We  have  grown  familiar 
with  relief  measures  in  times  of  famine  and  other  dis¬ 
asters,  but  in  the  first  century  the  sending  of  relief  to 
strangers  in  a  distant  city  was  something  quite  new. 
The  world  had  never  witnessed  anything  of  the  kind 
before  when  the  Christians  in  Antioch  gave  all  that  they 
were  able  to  give  to  help  the  poor  of  Judea  in  a  time  of 
famine.  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  appointed  to  carry  the 
gifts  of  the  Antioch  church  to  the  elders  of  the  church 
in  Jerusalem,  and  they  had  doubtless  been  the  leaders  in 
planning  this  act  of  Christian  helpfulness. 

Giving  a  Young  Man  Another  Trial.  Acts  15:36-41. 
We  have  seen  in  a  preceding  lesson  how  Barnabas  and 
Paul  differed  about  taking  John  Mark  with  them  on  their 
second  missionary  journey.  Paul  in  his  emphatic  and 
self-confident  way  was  unalterably  opposed  to  taking 
Mark  with  them.  Barnabas  in  his  kindliness  of  soul 
wished  to  give  Mark  another  chance.  He,  as  well  as 
Paul,  could  be  firm  when  he  was  sure  that  he  was  in 
the  right.  The  controversy  ended  in  the  separation  of 
Paul  and  Barnabas,  but  Mark  was  saved  to  the  cause 
of  the  Kingdom.  It  is  good  to  know  that  this  difference  of 
opinion  did  not  lead  to  any  permanent  estrangement 
between  Paul  and  Barnabas.  In  his  letters  Paul  speaks 
repeatedly  of  Barnabas  and  always  in  friendly  terms. 

How  THK  Christian  Re:tigion  Increases  the  Power 

TO  Feee 

The  Christian  religion  increases  a  person’s  power 
to  feel  quite  as  truly  as  it  increases  a  person’s  power  to 
think.  Great  philanthropies,  such  as  hospitals,  orphans’ 
homes,  asylums  for  the  insane,  and  relief  organizations 


194  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


for  the  help  of  those  who  are  the  victims  of  flood  or 
famine  or  fire,  are  to  be  found  only  in  Christian  coun¬ 
tries.  This  is  because  the  Christian  religion  has  increased 
people’s  power  to  feel  sympathy  for  those  in  distress. 
Music  and  art  are  to-day  at  their  best  in  Christian  lands 
because  the  Christian  religion  has  increased  people’s 
power  to  appreciate  things  that  are  sublime  and  beauti¬ 
ful.  It  is  certain  that  a  person  who  is  a  Christian  finds 
more  joy  and  satisfaction  in  life  than  that  same  person 
could  possibly  experience  without  becoming  a  follower 
of  Jesus. 

But  why  is  this  so,  and  how  does  the  Christian  reli¬ 
gion  increase  a  person’s  power  to  feel?  Primarily  by 
changing  the  person  rather  than  by  changing  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  surrounding  the  person,  by  making  the  per¬ 
son  “a  new  creature”  in  Christ  rather  than  by  giving  him 
a  few  things  in  addition  to  those  already  possessed. 
The  Christian  religion  makes  people  more  sympathetic 
by  driving  out  selfishness,  the  great  foe  of  sympathy. 
It  makes  people  more  truly  happy  than  they  could  other¬ 
wise  be,  because  it  leads  to  forms  of  happiness  that  are 
deeper  than  they  could  otherwise  know.  Christianity 
means  the  service  of  our  fellow  men.  It  means  that  we 
live  to  make  others  happy,  but  it  is  a  law  of  our  natures 
that  in  giving  happiness  to  others  we  gain  true  and  last¬ 
ing  happiness  for  ourselves.  The  Christian  religion 
brings  us  closer  fellowship  with  God  than  we  could 
otherwise  attain  and  in  this  fellowship  is  our  deepest 
joy  and  our  most  lasting  satisfaction.  Many  centuries 
ago  a  great  man  of  the  Church  said,  “Our  souls,  O  God, 
were  made  for  thyself,  and  they  are  restless  until  they 
find  rest  in  thee.” 

The  Lesson  Prayer 

We  thank  thee,  our  Father,  for  the  heroic  men  and 
women  of  the  Early  Church  and  the  lessons  which  we 
learn  from  their  lives.  We  would  be  like  them  in  our 
fidelity  to  thee  and  in  our  desire  to  build  thy  Kingdom 
in  the  world.  We  would  find  our  greatest  joys  in  serv¬ 
ing  thee  and  helping  our  fellow  men.  Bless  our  church 
school  we  pray  thee.  Teach  us  to  be  attentive  to  the 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  195 


lessons  as  they  are  taught  by  our  teachers.  Guide  us  into 
ways  of  service  so  that  we  may  not  only  learn  these 
lessons  of  truth  but  live  them  and  make  them  a  part  of 
ourselves.  We  ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  thy  Son. 
Amen. 

Th^  Lesson  Hymn 

“O  Still  in  Accents  Sweet  and  Strong.”  “Studies  of 
Familiar  Hymns,”  page  137. 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

FULL-GROWN  CHRISTIANS 
Eph.  4:13-15 

We  have  seen  how  the  Christian  religion  increases  the 
power  to  think  and  the  power  to  feel.  The  influence 
of  the  Christian  religion  is  even  greater  over  the  power 
to  will  than  it  is  over  the  intellect  and  the  feelings.  The 
power  to  will  that  which  is  just  and  good  and  to  hold 
unfalteringly  to  right  decisions  is  one  of  the  greatest 
blessings  that  the  Christian  religion  brings  to  an  indi¬ 
vidual.  The  Bible  contains  many  illustrations  of  this 
truth.  It  shows  us  many  people  who  willed  to  do  right 
but  whose  wills  were  too  feeble  to  carry  out  their  good 
resolutions.  Pilate  is  an  illustration  of  this  weakness. 
He  wished  to  release  Jesus,  for  he  knew  that  he  was 
innocent.  In  the  accounts  of  the  trial  of  Jesus,  we  see 
the  gradual  giving  away  of  the  weak  will  of  Pilate 
before  the  clamor  of  the  Jews. 

At  first  Pilate  declared  Jesus  not  guilty  and  proposed 
to  set  the  prisoner  free.  Then  he  heard  that  Herod 
was  in  Jerusalem  and  thought  to  escape  the  responsi¬ 
bility  of  his  office  by  shifting  the  case  to  Herod.  Next 
he  proposed  that  Jesus  be  condemned  and  set  free  as  a 
pardoned  criminal.  Then  he  took  Jesus  and  scourged 
him,  hoping  that  the  Jews  might  be  satisfied.  At  last  he 
yielded  and  sent  Jesus  to  be  crucified.  What  a  shameful 
exhibition  of  weakness!  Yet  all  who  indulge  in  sin  are 
bringing  on  just  such  weakness  of  will  in  so  far  as  the 
willing  of  right  things  is  concerned. 


196  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Peter  is  an  illustration  of  a  weak  will  made  strong 
through  the  religion  of  Jesus.  He  thought  that  he  had 
a  strong  will  and  perhaps  he  did  in  some  things.  He 
boastfully  proclaimed  that  he  would  never  forsake  Jesus, 
even  if  he  had  to  die  with  him,  but  a  little  later  he  denied 
his  Lord  when  a  girl  said  to  him,  “Thou  also  wast  with 
Jesus  the  Galilsean.”  But  after  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus,  Peter  came  to  possess  the  indomitable  will  of  a 
true  follower  of  the  Christ.  Imprisonment  and  scourg¬ 
ing  and  threats  of  death  could  not  overcome  his 
determination  to  preach  the  gospel  of  Jesus. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Christian  religion  helps  people 
to  reach  their  best  development.  This  is  what  Paul 
meant  when  he  spoke  about  those  to  whom  he  .wrote 
becoming  full-grown  men  and  about  their  attaining  unto 
the  “measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ.” 
Without  religion  none  can  become  spiritually  full-grown. 
They  become  spiritual  dwarfs;  they  are  crippled  in  their 
souls. 

Some:  Truths  trom  the:  Lessons  We:  Have  Been 

Studying 

Apollos  became  full-grown  intellectually  after  he 
learned  about  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus  and  became 
an  enthusiastic  followei  of  the  Christ. 

Apollos  was  a  humble  man.  He  did  not  feel  that  he 
knew  everything  even  if  he  had  been  educated  in  the 
intellectual  capital  of  the  world.  He  was  willing  to 
learn  from  two  Jewish  strangers  who  had  probably  not 
had  half  so  much  education  as  he  had  enjoyed. 

Jesus  once  told  a  young  man  to  sell  all  his  property 
and  give  the  money  which  he  received  from  this  sale 
to  the  poor.  The  young  man  went  away  sorrowful. 
Barnabas  and  many  of  the  other  Christians  of  the  Early 
Church  did  as  much  as  Jesus  asked  the  young  man  to 
do  and  they  did  it  of  their  own  choice.  These  early 
Christians  had  a  deep  sympathy  with  the  poor,  whereas 
the  rich  young  man  had  not. 

Christianity  develops  friendship  which  is  both  wide 
and  deep.  It  is  the  foe  of  little  cliques  and  factions  and 
the  ally  of  world-wide  brotherhood. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  197 


Famine  relief  and  like  philanthropic  movements  had 
their  beginning  in  the  Christian  Church  because  the 
religion  of  Jesus  had  enlarged  the  sympathies  of  those 
who  had  become  followers  of  the  Christ. 

Review  Questions 

1.  What  does  the  Bible  mean  when  it  says  that  man 
was  made  in  the  image  of  God? 

2.  Tell  what  you  can  of  Alexandria,  the  native  city 
of  Apollos. 

3.  Why  was  Apollos  interested  in  the  teachings  of 
John  the  Baptist? 

4.  How  did  Apollos  come  to  know  about  the  life  and 
teachings  of  Jesus? 

5.  Name  some  of  the  ways  in  which  the  Christian 
religion  helps  an  individual  to  develop  the  power  to 
think. 

6.  Why  did  Barnabas  sell  his  land  and  give  the  money 
to  the  disciples? 

7.  Show  how  the  Christian  religion  affects  a  person’s 
power  to  feel  sympathy. 

8.  Name  some  incidents  in  the  life  of  Barnabas  which 
show  that  he  was  a  true  friend. 

9.  Show  how  Pilate’s  weak  will  yielded  to  the  clamor 
of  the  Jews. 

10.  Show  how  the  will  of  Peter  grew  after  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus. 

Bibee  Verses 

Gen.  17:1,  2;  Deut.  18:13;  Prov.  4:18;  Matt.  5:48; 
Mark  4:26-29;  Col.  1:28;  2:2,  3;  Heb.  5:12-14;  I  Peter 
2:2;  II  Peter  3:18. 

Study  Topics 

1.  A  Man  Who  Grew  Strong  Under  Persecution. 
John,  ch.  9.  (Note  how  the  man  born  blind  became 
more  and  more  outspoken  in  his  defense  of  Jesus.) 

2.  A  King  Who  Sulked  Like  a  Spoiled  Child.  I  Kings 
21:1-4. 


198  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


3.  The  Perfect  Sympathy  of  Jesus.  See  Matt.  9:36; 
15:32;  20:34;  et  cetera. 

4.  The  Perfect  Self-Control  and  Will  Power  of  Jesus. 
See  Matt.  4:1-11;  21:12-17;  John  18:22-24;  et  cetera. 

5.  What  Christians  Have  Done  for  China  in  Times 
of  Famine. 

6.  The  Work  of  the  Near  East  Relief. 

7.  Why  Instruction  in  Christianity  Is  a  Necessary 
Part  of  Education. 

8.  Great  Paintings  Which  Owe  Their  Existence  to 
the  Christian  Religion.  (See  “The  Story  of  the  Master¬ 
pieces,”  by  Stuart,  or  some  similar  book.) 

9.  The  Manhood  of  the  Master.  (Let  several  pupils 
select  chapters  from  Dr.  Fosdick’s  book  on  this  theme 
and  report  to  the  class.) 

10.  How  the  Christian  Religion  Makes  for  Perfection 
of  Character. 

Putting  the  Truths  oe  the  Lesson  Into  Practice 

It  is  one  of  the  tragedies  of  the  modern  Church  that 
so  many  who  become  its  members  never  make  any  notice¬ 
able  growth  in  the  Christian  life.  They  fail  to  advance 
“in  wisdom  and  stature,  and  in  favor  with  God  and 
men.”  This  failure  is  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  the 
Church  has  a  faulty  and  inadequate  educational  pro¬ 
gram.  Let  the  pupils  put  in  practice  the  truths  they 
have  studied  in  this  lesson.  Call  for  suggestions  from 
pupils  as  to  how  this  can  be  done  and  let  them  tell  how 
these  truths  ought  to  affect  their  lives  in  the  home  and 
in  the  community.  If  the  friendships  of  some  of  the 
pupils  are  narrow  and  exclusive,  some  social  activities 
in  which  the  whole  class,  with  invited  guests  from  out¬ 
side  the  class,  may  participate,  would  be  a  good  form  of 
expressional  activity.  Cooperation  with  the  Red  Cross 
and  other  relief  agencies  may  be  found  helpful. 


RUINS  OF  EPHESUS 


CHAPTER  XVI 


TWO  YOUNG  MEN  WHO  WERE  HELPERS  OF 

PAUL 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

TITUS,  A  YOUNG  MAN  WHO  WAS  FOUND  TO  BE 
FAITHFUL  IN  PEACES  OF  RESPONSIBILITY 

Gal.  2:1-3;  II  Cor.  2:12,  13;  7:5-7;  8:6,  7;  16;  12:18; 

Titus  1 :1-16 

As  time  passed  and  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  together 
with  others  who  had  known  him  in  the  flesh,  began  to 
leave  the  earthly  Church  to  be  with  their  Lord,  leaders 
like  Paul  and  John  realized  more  and  more  the  necessity 
for  training  young  men  and  women  who  should  take  up 
the  great  task  which  they  must  soon  lay  down.  It  was 
for  this  reason  that  John  wrote  his  First  Epistle  and  in 
it  penned  the  words,  “I  have  written  unto  you,  young 
men,  because  ye  are  strong,  and  the  word  of  God  abideth 
in  you,  and  ye  have  overcome  the  evil  one.”  Paul  gath¬ 
ered  about  him  certain  young  men  who  became  his 
helpers.  Among  these  helpers  of  Paul  were  Titus  and 
Timothy,  the  two  young  men  who  are  to  be  the  objects 
of  our  study  in  this  chapter. 

A  Convert  from  Paganism.  Gal.  2:1-3.  Titus  was  a 
Gentile.  It  is  thought  that  his  early  home  was  in  Antioch 
and  that  Paul  first  met  him  there  during  the  years  when 
the  Antioch  church  was  being  built  up  under  the  leader¬ 
ship  of  Paul  and  Barnabas.  Such  Christians  as  Luke 
and  Titus  were  an  object  lesson  to  those  who  had  been 
reared  as  members  of  the  Jewish  faith  and  had  later 
become  Christians.  They  saw  in  these  converted  Gen¬ 
tiles  the  proof  that  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons  and 
that  the  religion  of  Jesus  is  able  to  change  the  lives  of 
all  who  come  to  God  believing  in  his  Son. 

One  of  PauTs  Spiritual  Children.  Titus  1  :l-4.  It  is 
likely  that  Titus  was  converted  under  the  preaching  of 

199 


200  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Paul  for  in  his  letter  to  Titus  Paul  calls  him  true 
child  after  a  common  faith.”  These  spiritual  children 
were  a  great  source  of  joy  and  comfort  to  Paul  and  to 
the  others  who  in  the  first  century  preached  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  and  won  converts  for  the  Kingdom.  When 
Paul  was  an  old  man  and  in  prison,  he  wrote  to  the 
Christians  of  Philippi  calling  them  “my  brethren  be¬ 
loved  and  longed  for,  my  joy  and  crown.”  John  wrote 
to  a  friend,  who  had  probably  been  converted  under 
his  influence,  saying,  “Greater  joy  have  I  none  than  this, 
to  hear  of  my  children  walking  in  the  truth,”  III  John  4. 

Titus  in  the  School  of  Paul.  For  some  years  young 
Titus  was  the  helper  and  traveling  companion  of  Paul. 
These  were  years  of  preparation,  years  when  Titus  was 
practically  in  school,  for  there  is  no  greater  school  than 
that  which  consists  of  a  great  and  enthusiastic  teacher 
and  leader  together  with  the  pupils  of  such  a  leader. 
Titus  heard  Paul  preach  and  saw  how  unceasingly  he 
labored,  and  little  by  little  the  pupil  took  on  the  habits 
of  his  teacher. 

Titus  accompanied  Paul  and  Barnabas  when  they  went 
from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem  to  hold  a  conference  with  the 
disciples  and  the  elders  of  the  Jerusalem  church  on  the 
conditions  under  which  Gentile  converts  should  be  ad¬ 
mitted  to  the  Christian  fellowship.  It  was  well  for  Titus 
that  he  had  these  years  of  training  under  a  great  leader, 
for  the  time  came  when  he  was  given  tasks  of  much 
importance. 

Sent  to  Do  an  Important  and  Delicate  Task.  II  Cor. 
2:12,  13;  7:5-7;  8:6,  7,  16;  12:18.  Paul  preached  for 
several  months  in  Corinth  and  gathered  together  a  large 
number  of  Christians  there.  Some  time  after  leaving 
Corinth  he  learned  that  all  was  not  well  in  the  newly 
organized  church  in  that  city.  Although  the  people  who 
were  members  of  the  Christian  church  in  Corinth  had 
broken  away  from  idolatry,  they  did  not  find  it  easy  to 
throw  off  the  habits  of  life  which  years  of  pagan  living 
had  fastened  upon  them.  They  became  divided  among 
rival  leaders.  Some  of  them  fell  back  into  the  pagan 
immoralities  which  they  had  renounced  upon  becoming 
Christians.  They  had  a  great  deal  of  disputing  con¬ 
cerning  what  a  Christian  might  and  might  not  do.  Some 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  201 


of  them  became  bitter  enemies  and  were  soon  embroiled 
in  law  suits;  Christian  against  Christian,  in  the  public 
courts.  It  looked  as  if  the  Christian  church  of  Corinth 
would  surely  go  to  pieces  and  as  if  the  work  at  which 
Paul  had  labored  so  diligently  would  be  brought  to 
nought. 

Paul  could  not  at  this  time  go  to  Corinth  himself  so 
he  looked  about  for  a  suitable  person  to  send  in  his  place. 
He  chose  his  young  friend,  Titus.  It  was  an  important 
and  delicate  task.  It  promised  likewise  to  be  unpleasant, 
for  the  straightening  out  of  such  tangles  is  apt  to  stir 
up  a  good  deal  of  resentment  against  the  person  who 
undertakes  to  act  as  peacemaker. 

Titus  had  learned,  however,  to  be  patient,  frank, 
and  persevering.  He  succeeded  admirably.  The  Co¬ 
rinthian  church  was  saved  and  started  on  a  new  era  of 
growth.  Titus  won  the  hearts  of  the  Corinthian  Chris¬ 
tians  and  they  loaded  him  with  gifts  for  himself  and  for 
his  leader,  Paul.  Everyone  was  made  glad  by  the  work 
of  Titus.  The  Corinthian  Christians  were  glad  to  be 
once  more  at  peace  among  themselves.  Paul  was  glad 
because  a  great  worry  was  rolled  away.  Titus  himself  was 
glad  because  he  had  done  good  and  made  others  happy. 

Made  Superintendent  in  the  Island  of  Crete.  Titus 
1  :5-16.  In  due  time  Titus  became  overseer  of  the  Christian 
forces  in  the  island  of  Crete.  His  task  was  to  organize 
churches,  select  suitable  men  to  become  elders,  and  have 
general  oversight  of  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  the 
island.  This  was  a  task  of  great  difficulty,  for  much 
depended  on  the  selection  of  the  right  kind  of  men  to 
lead  the  newly  organized  churches.  The  Cretans  who 
had  become  Christians  found  it  just  as  hard  as  the 
Corinthians  had  found  it  to  break  away  entirely  from 
pagan  ideas  and  habits.  They  needed  a  great  deal  of 
teaching  and  a  great  deal  of  personal  and  helpful  advice. 
It  is  a  great  compliment  to  Titus  that  Paul  chose  him 
for  this  important  and  difficult  task. 

With  Paul  in  Rome.  We  do  not  know  much  about  the 
last  years  of  the  life  of  Titus.  His  stay  in  Crete  was  not 
permanent,  however,  for  we  know  from  Paul’s  second 
letter  to  Timothy  that  Titus  was  with  Paul  shortly  be¬ 
fore  the  letter  was  written.  We  may  well  believe  that 


202  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Titus  remained  a  faithful  and  diligent  preacher  of  the 
gospel  and  missionary  to  the  Gentiles  until  the  end  of 
his  life.  As  a  young  man  he  was  not  found  wanting  in 
places  of  difficulty  and  responsibility,  and  we  may  rest 
assured  that  having  known  the  way  of  purity  and  service 
in  his  youth  he  did  not  depart  from  it  when  he  was  old. 

Outgoing  Missionarii:s  of  thf  Cross 

The  work  which  Paul  and  John  and  others  of  the 
disciples  of  the  Early  Church  did  in  recruiting  young 
people  for  the  work  of  the  Church  must  go  on  from 
century  to  century.  When  the  young  life  of  any  genera¬ 
tion  responds  loyally  to  the  call  for  Christian  service, 
the  cause  of  Christ  prospers.  When  the  young  life  of 
any  generation  is  unresponsive  to  the  call  of  Christian 
service,  the  cause  of  Christ  languishes. 

It  is  the  custom  of  some  of  the  denominations  in  our 
country  to  hold  every  year  a  conference  for  its  missiona¬ 
ries  who  are  going  out  to  the  foreign  field  for  the  first 
time.  At  a  recent  meeting  of  this  kind  many  recruits 
had  come  together  for  prayer  and  conference  before  set¬ 
ting  forth  for  the  widely  scattered  portions  of  the  earth 
to  which  they  had  been  assigned.  Before  the  close  of  the 
meeting  the  newly  appointed  missionaries  were  asked  to 
rise  and  express  in  a  brief  statement  their  reasons  for 
going  out  to  the  foreign  field.  Some  of  these  statements 
are  as  follows : 

“I  have  not  been  able  to  find  a  reason  satisfactory  to 
my  conscience  why  I  should  not  go.’’ 

“I  go  because  the  medical  profession  in  the  United 
States  is  crowded,  and  there  is  great  need  for  physicians 
in  the  foreign  field.” 

“Jesus  Christ  has  so  taken  possession  of  my  heart  and 
soul  and  strength  and  mind  that  it  is  my  highest  duty  and 
joy  to  follow  his  injunction  to  go  and  carry  his  gospel  of 
salvation  to  God’s  children  over  there  who  have  not  seen 
the  light  of  his  countenance  and  do  not  know  him.” 

‘T  go  because  the  fields  are  white  unto  the  harvest  and 
the  laborers  few.” 

“I  go  because  our  Master  died  that  all  might  have 
salvation  and  he  has  called  me  to  carry  the  message.” 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  203 


“I  am  going  as  a  missionary  because  I  was  not  ‘called' 
to  stay  at  home.” 

“I  go  to  China  because  I  realize,  in  part,  the  wonder¬ 
ful  opportunity  and  the  pressing  need  for  workers.  I 
should  feel  like  a  coward  if  I  did  not  respond.” 

“My  great  desire  is  to  take,  teach,  and  live  the  gospel 
of  Christ  where  those  who  sit  in  darkness  may  see  the 
light  of  the  world  as  it  has  been  revealed  to  me.” 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

I 

TIMOTHY,  ANOTHER  OF  PAUL’S  SPIRITUAL 

CHILDREN 

Acts  16:1-15;  II  Tim.  1:1-14;  4:6-18 

So  far  as  we  know  Paul  had  no  children  of  his  own. 
He  had,  however,  many  whom  he  called  his  children, 
because  they  had  been  converted  under  his  influence  and 
teaching.  As  we  have  seen,  Titus  was  one  of  these 
spiritual  children  of  Paul.  An  even  closer  bond  of  fel¬ 
lowship  seems  to  have  existed  between  Paul  and  Tim¬ 
othy  than  existed  between  Paul  and  Titus.  Perhaps  this 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  Timothy  was  a  mere  boy  when 
Paul  first  came  to  know  him.  Jesus  once  told  his  dis¬ 
ciples  that  anyone  who  should  give  up  houses,  or  breth¬ 
ren,  or  sisters,  or  mother,  or  father,  or  children,  or  lands, 
for  his  sake  and  the  gospel’s  sake  should  receive  a  hun¬ 
dredfold  now  and  in  the  world  to  come  eternal  life.  Paul 
had  given  up  much  to  become  a  follower  of  Jesus,  but  as 
we  read  his  life'  story  we  come  to  see  how  the  promise 
of  Jesus  was  fulfilled.  He  had  thousands  of  brethren. 
He  had  spiritual  children  who  loved  him  and  were  glad 
to  obey  him.  In  writing  to  the  Romans,  Paul  says, 
“Salute  Rufus  the  chosen  in  the  Lord,  and  his  mother 
and  mine.”  Paul  evidently  had  brethren,  fathers,  moth¬ 
ers,  and  spiritual  children  scattered  all  over  the  vast 
territory  where  he  had  labored  for  the  Kingdom. 

A  Household  Conversion  at  Lystra.  There  were  a 
good  many  people  converted  to  Christianity  in  the  city 
of  Lystra  when  Paul  visited  that  place  on  his  first  mis- 


204  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


sionary  journey.  Among  the  number  were  a  Jewish 
woman  named  Eunice  and  her  mother,  Lois.  Timothy 
was  the  son  of  Eunice,  but  his  father  was  a  Greek.  Tim¬ 
othy  may  have  been  quite  a  young  boy  at  the  time,  but 
it  is  probable  that  his  conversion  to  Christianity  dates 
from  this  first  visit  of  Paul.  Indeed,  it  is  likely  that  the 
whole  family  of  Eunice  became  Christians  at  this  time. 
Household  conversions  were  common  in  the  ministry  of 
Paul.  Timothy  had  been  brought  up  in  a  godly  home. 
From  his  babyhood  he  had  been  taught  the  great  lessons 
of  the  Old  Testament  by  his  mother,  Eunice,  and  his 
grandmother,  Lois.  Eunice  and  her  mother  were  truly 
religious  and  lived  up  to  the  light  that  they  had.  This 
is  why  they  were  ready  to  accept  the  better  light  of  the 
gospel  as  soon  as  they  heard  the  message  from  the  lips 
of  Paul. 

Paul  Chooses  Timothy  as  His  Helper.  Acts  16:1-10. 
When  Paul  reached  Lystra  on  his  second  missionary 
journey,  he  found  that  Timothy  whom  he  had  known 
as  a  boy  on  his  first  journey  had  grown  into  young 
manhood.  Timothy,  though  yet  hardly  more  than  a  boy, 
had  become  well  known  among  the  Christians  not  only 
of  his  home  town  but  in  the  neighboring  city  of  Iconium, 
Timothy  was  “well  reported  of  by  the  brethren.’^  Paul 
was  so  well  pleased  with  Timothy  that  he  invited  him 
to  become  a  member  of  the  missionary  party.  Timothy 
accepted  the  invitation  and  for  many  years  he  was 
intimately  associated  with  the  great  apostle. 

Carrying  the  Gospel  Into  Europe.  Acts  16:11-15. 
Timothy  went  with  Paul  down  to  the  seacoast  at  Troas; 
from  thence  they  set  sail  for  the  countries  lying  to  the 
westward  of  that  part  of  the  Mediterranean  sea.  They 
landed  at  Philippi  as  the  first  missionaries  to  Europe, 
a  continent  which  then  lay  in  pagan  darkness.  Timothy 
accompanied  Paul  to  Thessalonica  and  Berea,  but  he 
and  Silas  remained  in  Berea  while  Paul  went  on  to 
Athens.  Later  we  hear  of  Paul  sending  Timothy  to 
Corinth  on  a  mission  similar  to  that  on  which  he  sent 
Titus.  Timothy  was  with  Paul  during  his  somewhat 
prolonged  labors  in  Ephesus.  He  was  likewise  with 
the  apostle  during  his  first  imprisonment  in  Rome. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  205 

In  Charge  of  the  Work  in  Ephesus.  As  Paul  grew 
older  and  the  calls  upon  his  time  and  strength  multiplied, 
he  came  to  depend  more  and  more  upon  his  faithful  dep¬ 
uty,  Timothy.  He  placed  Timothy  in  charge  of  the  work 
in  the  great  city  of  Ephesus.  It  was  a  very  important 
post.  Ephesus  was  a  great  center  of  trade  and  of  learn¬ 
ing.  From  it  important  highways  radiated  to  all  parts 
of  Asia  Minor.  Paul  planted  his  churches  with  the  skill 
of  a  great  general  who  wisely  chooses  his  objectives. 
He  knew  that  this  strategic  point  must  be  strongly 
manned  and  he  chose  Timothy  for  the  task.  It  was  a 
difficult  task.  The  churches  must  be  more  thoroughly 
organized.  Officers  must  be  selected.  Pagan  notions 
which  continually  tended  to  creep  in  must  be  coml^ated. 
The  people  must  be  taught  what  is  meant  really  to  be 
followers  of  Jesus. 

It  was  to  help  and  encourage  Timothy  in  this  great 
task  that  Paul  wrote  to  him  the  letter  which  we  have 
come  to  call  the  First  Epistle  to  Timothy.  It  is  full  of 
wholesome  advice  and  wise  counsel.  The  apostle  speaks 
frankly  to  his  helper,  but  the  tender  and  fatherly  love 
of  Paul  for  his  spiritual  child  is  manifest  in  nearly  every 
line.  He  calls  Timothy  his  “true  child  in  faith.” 

Imprisoned  and  Lonely  the  Apostle  Yearns  for  the 
Company  of  His  Child.  H  Tim.  4:6-18.  In  his  dungeon, 
with  only  Luke  with  him,  Paul  longed  to  see  once  more 
the  one  whom  he  had  come  to  call,  “my  beloved  and 
faithful  child  in  the  Lord.”  He  knew  that  the  time  of 
his  departure  was  at  hand  and  he  urges  Timothy  to 
“give  diligence  to  come  shortly.”  He  opens  his  heart 
to  his  friend,  telling  him  of  all  that  has  happened  to 
him.  It  is  a  wonderful  letter,  full  of  courageous  faith 
and  flashing  with  the  fire  of  an  enthusiasm  which  the 
hardships  of  the  dungeon,  the  infirmities  of  age,  and  the 
certainty  of  approaching  death  could  not  quench.  Paul 
knew  that  he  would  never  preach  again,  but  he  could 
urge  Timothy  to  do  his  best  to  proclaim  the  gospel  which 
they  both  loved.  He  writes  therefore  to  Timothy,  say¬ 
ing,  “I  charge  thee  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  of  Christ 
Jesus,  who  shall  judge  the  living  and  the  dead,  and  by 
his  appearing  and  his  kingdom:  preach  the  word;  be 


206  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


urgent  in  season,  out  of  season ;  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort, 
with  all  longsuffering  and  teaching.” 

We  have  reason  to  believe  that  Timothy  reached  Paul 
before  Paul  was  put  to  death  by  Nero  and  that  he  shared 
for  a  time  the  imprisonment  of  the  apostle.  The  author 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  says  near  the  close  of  the 
letter,  “Know  ye  that  our  brother  Timothy  hath  been 
set  at  liberty.”  This  may  refer  to  the  time  of  Timothy's 
imprisonment  with  Paul  just  before  the  death  of  the 
latter,  but  of  this  we  cannot  be  sure. 

Sin  Pao,  a  Crippi.^d  Korean  Boy 

Twenty-five  miles  from  the  city  of  Tai-ku  in  Korea  is 
the  little  village  of  Sun  Pat.  In  this  village  there  lived 
a  few  years  ago  a  little  crippled  Korean  boy  named  Sin 
Pao.  His  legs  were  so  twisted  that  he  had  never  walked 
half  a  mile  in  his  life.  He  spent  his  days  sitting  on  the 
earthen  floor  of  his  father’s  hut,  making  nets  such  as  the 
Koreans  of  that  time  used  in  dressing  their  hair.  Despite 
his  heavy  handicap,  Sin  Pao  was  ambitious.  Little  by 
little  he  learned  the  Korean  characters  and  thus  became 
able  to  read,  even  though  he  had  no  teacher  to  help  him. 

After  a  while  there  drifted  into  the  hands  of  this  crip¬ 
pled  Korean  boy  a  little  Christian  tract  called  “The  Road 
to  True  Blessing.”  He  read  it  again  and  again,  for  it 
seemed  to  contain  that  for  which  his  starved  soul  was 
hungering.  He  began  to  tell  others  about  the  things 
the  book  contained,  and  some  of  them  became  interested. 
Finally  he  said  to  his  neighbors  and  relatives,  “All  fol¬ 
lowers  of  the  Jesus’  teaching  rest  on  the  Lord’s  day  and 
meet  together;  we,  too,  must  have  a  meeting  on  the 
Lord’s  day.”  He  had  never  seen  a  church  or  been  in  a 
Christian  service,  but  he  was  determined  that  they  should 
have  a  Christian  church  in  his  village.  Learning  that 
there  were  Christian  believers  in  Tai-ku,  he  determined 
to  go  there  that  he  might  find  out  what  the  Christians 
did  in  their  meetings  on  the  Lord’s  day.  But  Tai-ku 
was  twenty-five  miles  away.  By  working  hard  he  man¬ 
aged  to  get  a  little  money  and  hired  a  coolie  to  carry  him 
to  Tai-ku.  These  coolies  carry  heavy  sacks  of  rice  on 
their  backs  in  a  kind  of  saddle  called  a  ji-gi.  One  of 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  207 


them  consented  to  carry  Sin  Pao  instead  of  the  sack  of 
rice  if  . he  would  pay  him  the  wages  he  usually  received 
for  carrying  the  sack  of  grain. 

Fortunately  for  Sin  Pao,  he  reached  Tai-ku  just  as  a 
great  men’s  Bible  class  was  holding  a  series  of  meetings. 
He  eagerly  drank  in  the  information  concerning  the 
Bible,  concerning  prayer,  and  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
in  the  meetings  of  the  Christians,  And  so  it  came  to  pass 
that  after  Sin  Pao’s  return  to  his  native  village,  he  or¬ 
ganized  a  Christian  church.  It  is  now  quite  a  strong 
organization  and  Sin  Pao  finds  his  greatest  joy  in  con¬ 
ducting  the  services  on  the  Lord’s  day.  When  the  mis¬ 
sionaries  occasionally  visit  Sun  Pat,  they  find  the  people 
holding  steadfastly  to  their  faith  and  desiring  to  know 
more  concerning  the  new  way  of  life  upon  which  they 
have  entered.  Among  them  all  Sin  Pao  is  the  most 
eager  to  learn  more  concerning  the  Christian  faith  and 
the  Book  which  has  become  a  light  upon  his  pathway 
of  life. 

Thk  Lesson  Prayer 

Teach  us,  our  Father  in  heaven,  to  appreciate  the 
blessings  which  we  enjoy  in  our  land  of  liberty  and  op¬ 
portunity.  When  we  learn  of  those  who  live  in  other 
lands  where  the  light  of  the  Christian  religion  has  just 
begun  to  shine,  and  when  we  see  the  zeal  with  which 
they  seize  every  opportunity  to  learn  more  of  the  way 
of  life,  it  makes  us  know  that  we  lack  appreciation  and 
thankfulness.  Raise  up  missionaries,  we  pray  thee,  to 
carry  the  gospel  of  Jesus  to  those  who  are  hungering 
and  thirsting  after  righteousness,  that  they  may  be  filled. 
Forgive  us  if  we  have  spent  our  money  selfishly  and 
thoughtlessly  instead  of  using  as  much  of  it  as  we  could 
for  this  great  work.  We  ask  these  blessings  for  the 
sake  of  Jesus,  thy  Son.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

‘'From  Greenland’s  Icy  Mountains.”  “Studies  of  Fa¬ 
miliar  Hymns,”  page  63. 


208  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

THE  CALL  OF  THE  FOREIGN  MISSION  FIELD 

Acts  16 :6-15 

Our  Scripture  lesson  tells  how  the  gospel  came  to  be 
carried  into  Europe.  Paul  had  just  chosen  Timothy  as 
his  helper.  Leaving  Lystra,  the  boyhood  home  of  Tim¬ 
othy,  they  struck  out  on  their  westward  journey.  Turn¬ 
ing  north,  they  planned  to  enter  Bithynia,  as  the  country 
lying  just  south  of  the  Black  Sea  was  called  at  that 
time.  But  God  in  some  way  made  it  known  to  Paul 
that  he  was  not  to  enter  this  region  just  yet.  So  they 
went  on,  seeking  the  field  of  labor  toward  which  God 
was  leading  them.  They  kept  right  on  without  stopping 
to  preach,  for  they  were  sure  that  they  had  not  yet  come 
to  the  appointed  place  of  labor.  In  due  time  they 
reached  the  sea  at  Troas.  Across  the  sea  lay  the  land 
of  Macedonia,  a  part  of  Europe.  In  a  vision  of  the 
night  Paul  saw  a  man  of  Macedonia  standing  and  be¬ 
seeching  him,  and  saying,  “Come  over  into  Macedonia, 
and  help  us.”  Paul  and  Timothy  believed  that  this  was 
God’s  call  to  them  to  go  into  Macedonia  and  preach  the 
gospel  there.  It  was  in  this  way  that  the  first  missiona¬ 
ries  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  the  European  continent. 

The  work  to  which  God  called  Paul  and  Timothy  and 
Titus  is  not  yet  finished.  God  is  still  calling  people, 
young  people  especially,  to  take  up  the  great  task  which 
the  Christians  of  the  first  century  began  so  well.  More 
people  are  hearing  and  heeding  this  call  to-day  than  in 
any  other  century  of  the  Church’s  history,  but  still  the 
number  is  not  sufficient  to  meet  the  needs.  The  fields 
are  white  to  harvest,  the  harvest  is  likewise  abundant, 
but  the  laborers  are  few.  Not  only  are  more  volunteers 
needed,  but  there  is  need  for  money  to  send  out  and 
equip  those  who  have  offered  themselves. 

Some  Truths  erom  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

If  young  people  like  Timothy  and  Titus  had  not  offered 
themselves  for  Christian  service,  and  had  not  gone 
through  a  period  of  preparation  for  their  tasks,  the 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  209 


Christian  Church  would  have  gradually  disappeared 
from  the  earth  as  the  disciples  passed  away. 

Timothy  was  half  a  Gentile  and  Titus  was  entirely  of 
Gentile  parentage,  but  they  proved  to  be  invaluable  aids 
to  the  building  up  of  the  Christian  Church.  Many  con¬ 
verts  from  paganism  in  the  foreign-mission  fields  develop 
into  admirable  Christian  characters. 

Both  Titus  and  Timothy  underwent  a  long  period  of 
preparation  for  the  life  work  to  which  God  had  called 
them.  God  honors  education  by  making  it  an  instru¬ 
ment  of  great  importance  in  his  program  of  human 
redemption. 

Timothy  was  early  fitted  for  large  service  because  he 
had  a  godly  mother  and  there  was  a  religious  atmosphere 
in  his  home. 

Titus  and  Timothy  lived  in  an  age  when  pleasure¬ 
seeking  was  the  life  goal  of  most  young  people.  The 
pleasure  seekers  of  that  century  have  disappeared  with¬ 
out  leaving  a  trace  on  the  history  of  the  race.  These 
two  young  men  who  became  Christian  missionaries  have 
made  their  influence  felt  through  all  the  history  of  the 
Christian  Church. 


Ri;vie:w  Questions 

1.  In  what  way  were  converted  Gentiles  like  Titus 
and  Luke  an  object  lesson  to  Christians  who  had  been 
members  of  the  Jewish  Church? 

2.  Why  was  Paul  especially  interested  in  Titus  and 
Timothy? 

3.  Tell  of  the  task  to  which  Titus  was  assigned  by 
Paul. 

4.  Give  some  reasons  why  missionaries  go  to  the  for¬ 
eign  field. 

5.  Are  household  conversions  possible  in  our  day? 

6.  What  spiritual  advantage  had  Timothy  enjoyed 
before  he  became  Paul’s  helper? 

7.  Tell  something  of  the  contents  of  Paul’s  first  letter 
to  Timothy. 

8.  Under  what  circumstances  did  Paul  write  his 
second  letter  to  Timothy? 

9.  Tell  the  story  of  Sin  Pao,  the  Korean  cripple. 


210  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Bibiv^  Verses 

Psalm  67 ;  Isa.  1 1 :9 ;  60  :l-3 ;  Jonah  1  :l-3 ;  Matt.  26 :13 ; 
28:18-20;  Luke  2:29-32;  Acts  1:8;  10:34,  35;  13:1-3. 

Study  Topics 

1.  Raymond  Lull,  a  Knight  of  a  New  Crusade. 

2.  James  Chalmers,  a  Boy  Who  Was  Nobly  Ven¬ 
turesome. 

3.  Mackay  of  Uganda. 

4.  Mary  Slessor,  a  Woman  Who  Conquered  Can¬ 
nibals. 

5.  Archibald  Forder,  the  Friend  of  the  Arab. 

(Material  for  all  the  above  may  be  found  in  “The  Book 

of  Missionary  Heroes,”  by  Basil  Matthews.  This  book 
is  for  sale  by  the  Presbyterian  bookstores  and  should  be 
in  the  hands  of  those  who  are  teaching  this  course.  The 
book  may  be  loaned  to  pupils  who  have  been  assigned 
the  above  topics.) 

6.  Modern  Missions  in  India. 

7.  Modern  Missions  in  China. 

8.  Presbyterian  Mission  Work  Among  the  Indians. 

9.  Mission  Work  in  South  America. 

10.  Presbyterian  Mission  Work  in  Africa. 

(Information  for  all  the  topics  listed,  with  the  excep¬ 
tion  of  Number  8  may  be  secured  from  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  156  Fifth 
Avenue,  New  York  City.  Information  concerning  the 
Indian  work  may  be  secured  from  the  Board  of  Home 
Missions  at  the  same  address.) 

Putting  the  Truths  oe  the  Lesson  Into  Practice 

Choose  some  mission  station  or  individual  missionary 
toward  whose  support  the  class  is  to  contribute.  Have 
the  class  secretary  write  to  the  chosen  station  or  mis¬ 
sionary  and  secure  letters  and  photographs.  Ask  some 
member  of  the  class  to  find  out  about  the  Student  Volun¬ 
teer  Movement  and  report  to  the  class.  Collect  books 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOELOWERS  OF  JESUS  211 


and  papers  to  be  sent  to  mission  schools.  Have  the 
class  conduct  a  missionary  service  in  the  church  Sunday 
morning  or  Sunday  evening.  Some  of  the  stories  and 
topics  suggested  above  could  be  repeated  in  this  service 
in  the  church. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


A  ROMAN  CENTURION  AND  A  RUNAWAY 
SLAVE,  the  universal  APPEAL 
OF  THE  GOSPEL 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

CORNELIUS  THE  RIGHTEOUS  CENTURION  OF 

C^SAREA 

Acts  10:1-48 

There  is  something  in  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus 
that  appeals  to  every  race  and  condition  of  men.  This 
universal  appeal  is  clearly  shown  in  accounts  of  the 
beginnings  of  the  Church  as  they  appear  in  The  'Acts 
and  other  New  Testament  books.  The  gospel  as  it  was 
preached  by  the  early  Christians  had  an  appeal  for  old 
people,  for  people  in  middle  life,  and  for  children.  That 
it  had  a  message  for  the  children  is  shown  by  the  many 
household  conversions.  Young  Timothy  found  in  the 
story  of  Jesus  that  which  met  his  spiritual  needs  and  that 
which  inspired  him  to  give  his  life  to  the  service  of  the 
Christian  religion.  But  there  was  something  in  the 
gospel  for  Eunice,  the  mother  of  Timothy,  and  some¬ 
thing  likewise  for  Lois,  the  grandmother  of  Timothy. 
The  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus  found  a  response  in  those 
who  were  highly  educated  and  an  equal  response  in  the 
case  of  those  who  had  hardly  any  education  at  all.  Peo¬ 
ple  in  the  highest  stations  of  life  found  in  the  gospel 
satisfaction  and  guidance.  Some  also  from  the  very  dregs 
of  society  were  lifted  and  purified  by  the  faith  which 
accepts  Jesus  as  Saviour  and  Lord.  There  was,  among 
the  women  who  followed  Jesus  and  ministered  to  him, 
a  woman  named  Joanna  who  was  the  wife  of  Herod’s 
steward.  Paul  made  converts  among  them  who  were  of 
the  household  of  Caesar,  and  numbered  among  his  Chris¬ 
tian  friends  Erastus,  the  city  treasurer  of  Corinth.  In 
this  chapter  we  are  to  study  two  of  the  New  Testament 


212 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  213 


converts  to  Christianity.  One  was  a  noble-minded  cen¬ 
turion  of  the  Roman  army ;  the  other  was  a  runaway 
slave  and  thief. 

A  Man  Who  Lived  Among  Men  Devoutly.  Acts 
10:1-8.  Cornelius  was  what  is  known  as  a  Jewish  prose¬ 
lyte;  that  is,  he  was  a  Gentile  who  in  an  earnest  search 
for  spiritual  truth  had  come  to  believe  in  Jehovah,  the 
God  of  the  Jews,  as  the  only  true  God.  We  are  told 
that  Cornelius  was  a  devout  man.  This  indicates  that 
his  conduct  among  men  was  so  just  and  he  was  so 
humble  and  helpful  and  so  evidently  a  worshiper  of  the 
true  God  that  anyone  could  tell  that  these  things  were 
true  of  him  by  merely  seeing  him  and  knowing  him. 
That  Cornelius  was  a  humble  seeker  after  truth  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that,  although  he  belonged  to  one  of  the 
greatest  families  of  Rome,  he  did  not  refuse  to  learn 
from  the  Jews,  a  race  which  was  detested  by  nearly  all 
Romans. 

A  Man  Who  Walked  Before  God  Reverently.  That 
which  affects  conduct  more  than  anything  else  is  a  per¬ 
son’s  ideas  about  God  and  a  person’s  attitude  toward 
God.  This  Roman  captain  had  come  to  know  and  love 
Jehovah,  the  God  of  the  Jews,  and  that  love  and  knowl¬ 
edge  had  transformed  his  life.  This  triumph  of  char¬ 
acter  is  all  the  more  remarkable  because  it  belonged  to  a 
Roman  soldier.  The  life  of  a  soldier  of  that  day  was  one 
of  hardship  and  dangers,  spiritual  as  well  as  physical. 
Many  of  the  soldiers  of  Rome  were  fierce  and  cruel  black¬ 
mailers  who  extorted  money  and  property  from  citizens 
by  threats  and  acts  of  violence.  Here  was  a  man  who 
had  triumphed  over  the  adverse  influences  of  his  occu¬ 
pation  and  by  putting  temptations  under  his  feet  had 
gained  the  strength  of  a  continuous  spiritual  mastery 
over  himself.  The  Bible  explains  the  source  of  this 
spiritual  strength  of  Cornelius  when  it  says  that  he  was, 
“one  that  feared  God.” 

A  Man  Who  Brought  Up  His  Family  Religiously. 

Cornelius  not  only  feared  God  but  he  “feared  God  with 
all  his  house.”  His  children  had  been  brought  up  reli¬ 
giously.  In  this  task  Cornelius  must  have  overcome 
great  difficulties.  It  was  an  evil  age  in  which  he  lived. 
People  had  for  the  most  part  thrown  away  religious 


214  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


restraint.  Most  people  lived  for  selfish  pleasure  and 
vice  was  never  more  appalling.  The  children  of  Corne¬ 
lius  had  to  grow  up  in  the  midst  of  evil  influences.  He 
could  not  shield  them  entirely  from  these  evils  for  he 
must  have  been  away  from  home  for  long  periods  in  his 
campaigns  as  a  Roman  captain.  The  influence  of  the 
righteous  life  of  Cornelius  was  so  great  and  so  constant 
that  it  overbalanced  all  other  influences  and  he  succeeded 
in  bringing  up  his  children  to  fear  God  and  keep  God’s 
commandments.  The  influence  of  Cornelius  evidently 
extended  to  his  household  servants,  as  well  as  to  his 
children.  Moreover,  the  soldiers  who  came  into  contact 
with  him  were  lifted  to  higher  character  by  the  fellow¬ 
ship  with  their  noble  commanding  officer.  Words 
dropped  here  and  there  in  the  narrative  show  us  that 
this  was  true.  When  Cornelius  wished  to  send  mes¬ 
sengers  to  Joppa,  “he  called  two  of  his  household-serv¬ 
ants,  and  a  devout  soldier  of  them  that  waited  on  him 
continually.” 

A  Man  Who  Gave  of  His  Money  Liberally.  Philan¬ 
thropy  was  well-nigh  unknown  in  the  time  that  Cor¬ 
nelius  lived,  yet  he  “gave  much  alms  to  the  people.” 
This  liberality  of  Cornelius  is  an  added  proof  that  his 
religion  was  genuine.  He  had  nothing  to  gain  from  the 
cripples  and  lepers  who  thronged  the  streets  of  Caesarea. 
He  was  not  trying  to  curry  favor  by  his  gifts.  His 
office  did  not  depend  upon  the  votes  of  those  he  offered 
alms.  He  had  learned  of  the  one  true  God  to  be  com¬ 
passionate. 

A  Man  Who  Prayed  to  God  Continually.  It  is  said 
of  Cornelius  that  he  “prayed  to  God  always.”  The 
secret  of  his  strength  of  character  is  laid  bare  by  this 
sentence.  He  was  in  continuous  communion  with  God 
in  prayer  and  that  is  why  he  had  developed  godlikeness. 
He  was  praying  when  the  message  came  from  God  tell¬ 
ing  him  to  send  to  Joppa  for  Peter.  The  knowledge  of 
Jesus  which  Peter  gave  to  Cornelius  was  an  answer  to 
the  prayers  of  Cornelius.  So  we  know  that  this  strong 
Roman  captain  as  he  kept  the  ninth  hour  of  prayer  was 
beseeching  God  to  send  him  more  light.  His  character 
seems  almost  perfect  to  us  as  it  is  pictured  in  the  early 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  215 


statements  of  the  narrative,  but  to  Cornelius  his  char¬ 
acter  must  have  seemed  far  from  perfect.  He  was  hun¬ 
gering  and  thirsting  after  more  of  truth,  more  of  right¬ 
eousness,  than  he  had  yet  known.  It  was  therefore  with 
readiness  and  gladness  that  this  righteous  centurion 
heard  and  accepted  the  religion  of  Jesus. 

Captain  Philip  op  the  Battleship  Texas 

It  must  be  hard  for  a  young  man  to  live  the  life  of  a 
Christian  when  he  is  in  the  army  or  in  the  navy.  Never¬ 
theless  there  have  been  many  soldiers  and  sailors  who 
have  been  like  Cornelius  devout  and  God-fearing  men. 
Perhaps  just  because  conditions  were  unfavorable  they 
developed  a  spiritual  strength  which  might  not  have 
been  gained  under  less  trying  circumstances. 

Captain  Philip  who  commanded  the  battleship  Texas 
during  the  Spanish-American  War  was  one  of  these 
Christian  sailors.  His  little  vessel  was  in  the  hottest  of 
the  fight  in  the  naval  battle  of  Santiago  and  was  struck 
more  repeatedly  by  the  Spanish  shells  than  any  other 
vessel  in  the  conflict.  As  the  Spanish  ships  began  to 
topple  over  in  the  water  before  going  to  the  bottom  of 
the  sea,  a  shout  of  triumph  went  up  from  the  fighting 
ships  of  the  Americans.  Captain  Philip,  however,  silenced 
his  men  saying  to  them,  “Don’t  cheer,  boys;  those  poor 
fellows  are  dying.” 

When  the  battle  was  won  and  the  smoke  of  battle 
was  still  hanging  low  over  the  water.  Captain  Philip 
gathered  his  men  on  the  scarred  deck  of  the  Texas. 
“Uncover,”  he  commanded,  and  every  hat  came  off.  Then 
he  said  to  his  men,  “I  wish  to  say  here  and  now,  men, 
that  I  believe  that  there  is  a  God  and  that  he  has  pro¬ 
tected  us  and  given  us  the  victory  because  our  cause  is 
just.”  Then  with  bared  and  bowed  heads  they  all 
repeated  The  Lord’s  Prayer  with  the  captain  as  their 
leader. 


216  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

ONESIMUS,  A  RUNAWAY  SLAVE 
The  EpisteE  to  Philemon 

In  Cornelius  we  saw  a  man  of  the  highest  character 
eagerly  seeking  more  and  better  spiritual  light  and  find¬ 
ing  it  in  the  life  and  teaching  of  Jesus.  In  this  lesson 
we  are  to  learn  concerning  a  young  man  who  was  almost 
exactly  opposite  to  Cornelius  in  all  matters  of  character 
and  who  yet  found  newness  of  life  in  Jesus.  The  story 
of  Onesimus  must  be  read  between  the  lines,  as  it  were, 
in  a  brief  letter  which  Paul  wrote  to  a  friend  of  his 
named  Philemon.  From  this  letter  it  seems  that  Phile¬ 
mon  had  been  converted  to  Christianity  under  Paul’s 
influence,  possibly  while  Paul  was  preaching  in  Ephesus. 
Philemon  later  moved  to  Colossas,  a  city  of  Asia  Minor, 
east  of  Ephesus.  He  was  a  faithful  member  of  the 
Christian  Church  and  the  Christians  of  Colossse  made 
his  home  their  meeting  house. 

Slavery  was  almost  universal  in  those  days.  When 
people  became  Christians,  they  did  not  all  set  their 
slaves  free,  though  there  were  signs  that  Christianity 
was  already  undermining  the  institution  of  slavery.  A 
master  who  had  become  a  Christian  and  whose  slaves 
had  become  Christians  of  course  had  some  difficult 
problems  to  settle.  The  new  brotherhood  into  which 
both  master  and  slave  had  entered  made  the  former 
attitude  of  the  master  toward  his  slaves  impossible  and 
practically  did  away  with  slavery  even  though  the  slave 
was  not  always  actually  set  at  liberty. 

Onesimus  Runs  Away.  Philemon  had  a  young  slave 
named  Onesimus.  It  may  be  that  after  Philemon  be¬ 
came  a  Christian  this  young  slave  felt  the  loosening  of 
his  master’s  control  and  therefore  decided  to  escape 
from  it  altogether.  At  all  events,  he  stole  some  of  his 
master’s  money  and  ran  away.  The  city  of  Rome  was 
then  the  capital  of  the  world  and  all  the  worst  elements 
of  society  tended  to  be  drawn  there  as  floating  drift¬ 
wood  is  drawn  into  a  whirlpool.  After  wanderings  and 
adventures  of  which  we  have  no  account  but  which 
Onesimus  probably  experienced,  he  found  himself  in 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  217 


Rome.  Onesimus  had  committed  an  offense  punishable 
by  death  under  the  laws  of  the  times  and  being  a  fugi¬ 
tive  and  a  criminal  it  is  altogether  probable  that  he  fell 
in  with  the  very  dregs  of  all  the  world  in  Rome,  and 
learned  to  live  the  life  which  these  outcasts,  burglars, 
and  highwaymen  of  the  great  city  lived. 

Onesimus  Gets  Into  Prison.  Onesimus  must  have 
committed  some  offense  for  which  he  was  apprehended 
and  cast  into  prison ;  otherwise,  he  could  hardly  have 
come  under  the  influence  of  Paul  who  was  a  prisoner  at 
the  time.  The  prisons  of  the  day  were  terrible  places. 
Perhaps  Paul  and  Onesimus  met  in  the  awful  Mamer- 
tine  prison  of  Rome.  Onesimus  was  still  hardly  more 
than  a  boy  and,  being  used  to  an  active  life  in  the  open 
air,  the  dreary  dungeon  was  almost  unbearable  to  him. 
One  day  he  met  an  old  man  among  the  prisoners.  We 
know  that  Paul  was  growing  old  at  the  time  for  he  says 
in  his  letter  to  Philemon,  “yet  for  love’s  sake  I  rather 
beseech,  being  such  a  one  as  Paul  the  aged,  and  now  a 
prisoner  also  of  Christ  Jesus.” 

Young  Onesimus  found  this  old  man  entirely  differ¬ 
ent  from  all  the  other  prisoners.  He  was  kind  and  help¬ 
ful  and  cheerful.  He  spent  a  great  deal  of  time  talking 
to  the  other  prisoners  about  a  better  way  of  life  and  a 
Saviour  who  was  able  to  help  them  to  walk  in  that  way. 

Onesimus  Becomes  a  Christian.  One  day  Paul  and 
Onesimus  were  talking  and  Onesimus,  who  had  become 
greatly  attached  to  the  kind  old  man,  told  him  all  about 
his  past  career.  He  told  him  that  he  was  a  slave  belong¬ 
ing  to  a  certain  man  in  Colossse,  Philemon  by  name,  and 
that  he  had  stolen  his  master’s  money  and  run  away  to 
Rome.  Philemon?  Why  Paul  knew  Philemon!  He 
had  met  him  often  in  Asia,  and  Philemon  had  been  con¬ 
verted  to  the  Christian  religion  under  his  influence. 
And  so,  through  Paul,  Onesimus,  though  he  was  a  run¬ 
away  slave  and  a  thief,  learned  to  know  and  believe  in 
Jesus  and  became  a  Christian. 

The  offense  for  which  Onesimus  had  been  cast  into 
prison  does  not  seem  to  have  been  serious,  for  he  was 
afterward  set  free.  Having  become  a  Christian,  he 
wished  to  undo,  so  far  as  he  was  able,  the  wrongs  which 


218  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


he  had  done.  Yet  he  feared  to  go  back  to  his  master. 
There  is  always  an  honorable  way  to  do  what  is  right 
and  Paul  helped  Onesimus  to  find  it.  Paul  wrote  a  let¬ 
ter  to  Philemon  telling  him  about  Onesimus.  He  said, 
“I  beseech  thee  for  my  child,  whom  I  have  begotten  in 
my  bonds,  Onesimus,  who  once  was  unprofitable  unto 
thee,  but  now  is  profitable  to  thee  and  to  me.’^  The 
name,  Onesimus,  means  “profitable”  and  Paul  was  play¬ 
ing  on  the  meaning  of  the  name.  What  he  really  said 
was,  ‘T  beseech  thee  for  my  child,  whom  I  have  be¬ 
gotten  in  my  bonds,  your  slave  Profitable,  who  once 
was  unprofitable  to  thee,  but  now  is  profitable  to  thee 
and  me.”  We  have  here  a  hint  of  one  of  the  great  bless¬ 
ings  which  the  Christian  religion  bestows  upon  the 
human  race.  It  takes  the  outcasts,  the  thieves,  and  the 
beggars,  those  who  are  unprofitable  to  society,  and 
makes  them  profitable  to  men  and  to  God. 

Paul’s  Graciously  Courteous  Letter.  The  letter 
which  Paul  wrote  to  Philemon  is  a  masterpiece  of  cour¬ 
teous  and  kindly  entreaty.  It  gives  us  a  glimpse  into 
the  heart  of  the  great  apostle.  He  tells  Philemon  that 
he  would  gladly  keep  Onesimus  with  him  in  Rome  but 
that  he  would  do  nothing  without  Philemon’s  consent. 
It  suggests  that,  under  the  providence  of  God,  Onesimus 
has  been  parted  from  Philemon  for  a  little  season  in 
order  that  he  may  be  brought  back  no  longer  a  slave, 
but  a  brother  beloved.  He  asks  Philemon  to  receive 
Onesimus  as  he  would  receive  Paul  and  adds,  “If  he 
hath  wronged  thee  at  all,  or  oweth  thee  aught,  put  that 
to  mine  account;  I  Paul  write  it  with  mine  own  hand, 
I  will  repay  it.” 

Onesimus  Becomes  a  Preacher  of  the  Gospel  and  a 
Helper  of  Paul.  The  runaway  slave  became  a  preacher 
of  the  gospel.  In  writing  to  the  church  at  Colossae,  Paul 
calls  Onesimus  “the  faithful  and  beloved  brother,  who 
is  one  of  you.”  Triumphs  like  this  show  us  that  Jesus  is 
the  Saviour  of  the  world  and  his  religion  the  true  religion. 
No  other  religion  has  even  been' able  to  take  the  thief  and 
the  outcast  and  the  drunkard  and  out  of  these  ruined 
and  unprofitable  wrecks  make  men  of  noble  character 
profitable  to  themselves,  to  their  fellow  men,  and  to  God. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  219 

“OivD  Born  Drunk”;  thl  UnproRiTabkl  Mad^ 

PrOFITABIvK 

In  his  book  entitled  “Twice-Born  Men,”  Harold  Beg- 
bie  tells  of  many  people  who,  like  Onesimus,  were  raised 
from  extreme  degradation  into  the  self-respect  and  the 
usefulness  which  ought  to  belong  to  those  created  in 
God’s  image.  One  of  these  stories  told  by  Mr.  Begbie 
is  about  a  man  who  was  so  confirmed  a  drunkard,  and 
had  been  so  long  and  so  continually  under  the  influence 
of  liquor,  that  people  had  come  to  call  him  “Old  Born 
Drunk.”  Indeed,  the  poor  fellow’s  mother  had  herself 
been  a  drunkard  and  there  was  a  sense  in  which  he  had 
been  born  drunk. 

Old  Born  Drunk  was  an  utterly  unprofitable  member 
of  society.  V  He  was  so  stupefied  with  drink  that  he 
could  scarcely  understand  or  answer  what  was  said  to 
him.  No  one  thought  that  Old  Born  Drunk  would  ever 
be  any  different.  He  had  walked  the  evil  way  too  long 
for  any  change  to  be  wrought  in  him. 

One  night,  on  the  invitation  of  a  friendly  Salvationist, 
this  poor  old  fellow  stumbled  into  a  little  crowded  room 
where  a  gospel  mission  was  being  carried  on.  He  had 
been  there  before,  but  he  did  not  seem  to  understand 
what  was  said.  He  had  reached  a  stage  where  the  songs 
of  the  Christian  faith  did  not  seem  to  reach  his  soul. 
This  evening,  however,  one  of  the  workers  in  the  mis¬ 
sion  whom  Old  Born  Drunk  knew,  told  the  story  of  his 
conversion.  This  mission  worker  had  been  at  one  time 
an  outcast  and  a  criminal ;  so  he  knew  how  to  deal  with 
such  people.  As  he  talked,  there  was  something  that 
thrilled  in  Old  Born  Drunk’s  soul  emotions  which  had 
long  been  dead.  “All  of  a  sudden,”  he  said  afterward, 
“it  took  me  that  I’d  find  God  and  get  him  to  make  me 
like  Joe.”  Old  Born  Drunk  fell  on  his  knees  and  there 
he  found  that  profound  spiritual  change  which  Jesus 
called  being  born  again. 

From  that  time  Old  Born  Drunk  began  to  lose  the 
name  which  had  clung  to  him  so  long.  People  began 
to  feel  that  it  did  not  fit  this  earnest-souled  old  man  who 
worked  diligently  all  day  and  attended  the  meetings  at 
the  rescue  mission  at  night.  Many  attempts  were  made 


220  NEW  TEvSTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 

to  tempt  or  force  him  to  drink  but  he  stood  firm  against 
them  all.  He  “advertised  salvation”  to  all  who  had 
known  him  in  the  past  and  who  nov/  saw  him  living  a 
respectable  and  happy  and  helpful  life.  Once  unprofit¬ 
able  to  society  and  to  himself,  through  the  second  birth 
he  had  now  become  profitable  to  his  fellow  men  and  to 
God. 

Thk  Lesson  Prayer 

We  thank  thee,  our  Father  in  heaven,  for  the  lessons 
which  we  have  been  studying  out  of  thy  Word.  Help 
us  to  understand  the  great  truths  which  are  taught  in 
these  Bible  stories.  Keep  us  from  wandering  far  from 
thee  at  any  time.  We  would  give  our  whole  strength 
to  thee  and  our  whole  time  to  thee,  so  that  none  of  our 
years  may  be  wasted.  Teach  us  to  understand  the 
strength  and  beauty  which  are  found  in  the  character 
of  Jesus,  thy  Son.  We  would  grow  more  and  more  like 
him  in  our  love  for  thee  and  in  our  kindness  and  help¬ 
fulness  to  those  about  us.  Help  us  to  make  our  homes 
cheerful  and  peaceful  because  we  live  like  Jesus  and  like 
him  think  of  the  welfare  and  comfort  of  others.  We  ask 
for  the  sake  of  thy  Son.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“O  Help  us,  Lord;  Each  Hour  of  Need.”  “Studies  of 
Familiar  Hymns,”  page  233. 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

MISSION  WORK  IN  LARGE  CITIES 
Micah  2:2,  9;  Zech.  8:1-8;  Heb.  11:16;  Rev.  21:2 

The  problems  of  our  great  modern  cities  are  so  im¬ 
portant  that  even  boys  and  girls  ought  to  become  ac¬ 
quainted  with  them  and  learn  to  work  for  a  right  solu¬ 
tion  of  them.  The  problems  of  the  city  are  the  problems 
of  humanity.  In  this  expressional  lesson  we  are  to  con¬ 
sider  some  of  the  efforts  which  Christian  people  are 
making  toward  the  solving  of  the  problems  of  our  large 
cities. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  221 


Rescue  Missions.  We  have  seen  how  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  can  change  the  lives  of  those  who  have  lived  long 
in  sin  and  rebellion  against  God.  This  is  one  of  the 
greatest  needs  of  our  cities.  As  young  Onesimus  after 
becoming  a  thief  and  a  fugitive  drifted  into  Rome,  so  in 
our  day  many  of  the  most  desperate  criminals  are  to  be 
found  in  our  great  cities.  A  rescue  mission  is  a  place 
where  the  gospel  of  Jesus  is  taught  to  men  and  some¬ 
times  to  women  who  never  go  to  the  churches.  Many 
of  the  men  who  come  to  the  missions  are  ex-convicts, 
that  is,  men  who  have  spent  a  part  of  their  lives  in  a 
penitentiary.  Many  tramps  come  to  these  missions  to 
get  the  soup  or  sandwiches  often  distributed  to  those 
who  are  cold  and  hungry.  In  these  gospel  missions  men 
like  Old  Born  Drunk  are  often  reached  and  brought 
back  to  ways  of  usefulness  and  righteousness. 

Settlement  Houses.  In  many  of  our  large  cities  there 
are  slums,  places  where  the  streets  are  narrow  and  dirty, 
the  buildings  close  together,  and  the  people  poor  and 
ignorant  and  often  vicious.  In  the  slums  people  suffer 
from  the  lack  of  three  things  which  God  has  made  most 
abundant  for  his  children.  These  three  things  are  fresh 
air,  sunlight,  and  room.  God  has  covered  the  world 
with  an  ocean  of  fresh  air  more  than  a  hundred  miles 
deep,  yet  there  are  thousands  of  people,  many  of  them 
little  children,  who  are  slowly  dying  in  our  cities  be¬ 
cause  they  do  not  get  enough  fresh  air  to  keep  them 
alive.  God  floods  the  world  with  sunshine  every  day, 
yet  there  are  thousands  who  are  languishing  in  city 
slums  because  like  plants  growing  in  a  cellar  they  are 
not  touched  by  the  life-giving  sunshine.  God  has  made 
such  a  big  world  that  there  is  abundance  of  room  for 
everyone,  yet  we  have  people  crowded  together  in  cities 
to  such  an  extent  that  in  some  places  there  is  left  no 
room  to  live. 

A  settlement  house  is  an  institution  which  is  planted 
by  Christian  people  in  the  midst  of  the  slums  of  a  city. 
In  the  settlement  house  there  are  play  rooms  for  the  chil¬ 
dren.  Physicians  come  there  to  examine  children  and 
give  them  medicine  if  they  are  sick.  There  are  bath¬ 
rooms  for  the  people  who  have  no  means  of  bathing  in 


222  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


their  crowded  homes.  There  are  classes  for  teaching 
the  foreign  people  how  to  talk  English,  how  to  cook, 
how  to  take  care  of  their  babies,  and  other  similar 
purposes. 

The  Battle  with  the  Slums.  There  are  many  Chris¬ 
tian  men  and  women  who  believe  that  it  is  our  duty 
not  only  to  try  to  help  the  people  who  live  in  the  slums, 
but  also  to  try  to  destroy  the  slums  themselves.  They 
would  tear  down  the  old,  dirty,  crowded  tenements  and 
put  up  new  buildings  that  are  clean  and  airy  and  open 
to  the  sunlight.  They  would  widen  the  streets  and 
make  playgrounds  for  the  children.  They  would  drive 
out  of  the  city  all  bad  places,  like  the  saloons  which 
prey  upon  the  people  and  make  their  homes  poverty- 
stricken  and  unhappy. 

Some  Truths  erom  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

Cornelius  had  the  spirit  of  those  who  are  battling 
against  the  slums.  He  saw  the  sufferings  of  the  people 
in  the  poor  districts  of  Caesarea  and  he  “gave  much  alms 
to  the  people.” 

In  our  efforts  to  solve  the  problems  of  the  city,  we 
must  have  God’s  help.  Like  Cornelius,  we  must  pray 
“to  God  always.” 

Many  of  the  people  of  our  slums  are  foreigners.  If 
we  are  to  help  them  we  must  believe,  as  Peter  did,  that 
“God  is  no  respecter  of  persons.” 

Onesimus  is  a  type  of  thousands  of  young  men  in  our 
cities.  They  can  be  saved  as  Onesimus  was  by  being 
brought  to  know  and  love  Jesus,  the  Saviour  of  the 
world. 

Review  Questions 

1.  Show  that  the  life  and  the  teachings  of  Jesus  ap¬ 
pealed  to  all  classes  of  people  in  the  first  century. 

2.  What  were  the  Jewish  proselytes? 

3.  What  effect  had  the  Jewish  religion  had  upon 
the  character  of  Cornelius? 

4.  What  did  Peter  learn  from  Cornelius? 

5.  Tell  the  story  about  Captain  Philip. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  223 


6.  What  effect  did  the  Christian  religion  have  upon 
slavery? 

7.  Tell  the  story  of  Onesimus  and  his  conversion  to 
Christianity. 

8.  How  does  Paul’s  letter  to  Philemon  reveal  the 
character  of  Paul? 

9.  What  are  city  rescue  missions? 

10.  What  is  meant  by  “the  battle  with  the  slums”? 

BibIvE:  Ve:rse:s 

Ps.  46:4;  127:1;  Isa.  1:18;  26:1;  Zech.  8:3-5;  Acts 
8 :7,  8;  Rom.  1 :16;  Heb.  11 :10;  Rev.  3  :12;  21 :2. 

Study  Topics 

1.  An  Old  Testament  Picture  of  the  Evils  of  a  City. 
Micah,  ch.  3. 

2.  A  Prophet’s  Picture  of  a  Redeemed  City.  Zech. 
8:1-5. 

3.  Jesus  Weeps  over  the  City  of  Jerusalem.  Luke 
19:41-44. 

4.  The  Bowery  Mission  in  New  York.  (Information 
from  Bowery  Mission,  New  York  City.) 

5.  Hull  House  and  Its  Work.  (Information  from 
Miss  Jane  Addams,  Hull  House,  Chicago.) 

6.  Jacob  Riis  and  His  Work  for  the  Children  of  the 
Slums. 

7.  The  Conversion  of  One  Who  Had  Been  a  Wicked 
King.  H  Chron.  33:10-13. 

8.  The  Conversion  of  Paul.  Acts  9:1-9. 

9.  What  Our  Class  Can  Do  for  City  Missions. 

Putting  the:  Truths  op  thp  Le:sson  Into  Practice 

Have  the  class,  if  possible,  visit  a  city  mission  or  a 
settlement  house.  Write  to  some  settlement  house  ask¬ 
ing  what  the  class  can  do  to  help  the  work  of  the  settle¬ 
ment.  Have  a  Quiet  Hour  service  in  which  city  mis¬ 
sions  is  the  chief  object  of  prayer.  Find  out  about  the 
housing  laws  of  the  state  and  have  the  pastor  preach  on 
the  subject  of  “Christianity  and  the  Problems  of  our 
Cities,”  or  some  similar  theme. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


SOME  WOMEN  WHO  WERE  PIELPERS  OF 

PAUL 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

A  WOMAN  WHO  WELCOMED  THE  APOSTLE  TO 

EUROPE 

Acts  16:11-40 

In  a  previous  chapter  we  have  seen  how  a  little  com¬ 
pany  of  women  associated  themselves  with  Jesus  and 
by  their  aid  made  it  possible  for  Jesus  and  his  disciples 
to  give  all  their  time  to  preaching,  teaching,  and  heal¬ 
ing.  The  work  of  the  women  continued  to  be  of  much 
importance  in  the  days  when  the  Church  was  being 
organized  and  they  are  often  mentioned  in  the  book  of 
The  Acts.  Paul,  like  Jesus,  had  a  number  of  helpers 
among  the  women.  Some  of  the  women  who  were 
Paul’s  helpers  are  to  be  considered  in  the  present 
chapter. 

A  Business  Woman  Who  Believed  in  God.  It  was  a 
man  that  Paul  saw  in  his  vision  who  called  to  him  say¬ 
ing,  “Come  over  into  Macedonia,  and  help  us,”  but  it 
was  a  woman  who  was  first  in  Macedonia  to  believe 
the  gospel  message  preached  by  Paul  and  to  welcome 
him  to  Europe.  This  woman’s  name  was  Lydia.  She 
was  a  business  woman  who  sold  dyes  and  dyed  gar¬ 
ments  which  had  been  manufactured  in  her  native  town 
of  Thyatira,  in  Asia  Minor.  Lydia  was  a  believer  in 
God  before  she  met  Paul.  She  was  probably,  like  Cor¬ 
nelius,  a  Jewish  proselyte. 

A  Riverside  Prayer  Meeting.  When  Paul  with  his 
companions,  among  whom  were  Luke,  Silas,  and  Tim¬ 
othy,  reached  Philippi,  they  were  strangers  to  everyone 
in  the  city.  After  a  time  they  heard  of  a  little  group  of 
people  who  were  worshipers  of  Jehovah.  These  people 
had  no  church  or  synagogue  in  which  to  worship,  so 
they  had  been  accustomed  to  go  a  little  way  outside  the 

224 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  225 


city  and  gather  on  the  banks  of  a  river  and  there  hold 
their  service  of  praise  and  prayer.  So  Paul  and  his  com¬ 
panions  went  out  to  this  meeting  place  by  the  river  the 
first  Sabbath  they  were  in  Philippi.  Only  a  few  people 
came  and  all  of  them  were  women,  with  the  exception 
of  Paul  and  his  companions.  Paul  did  not  despise  the 
opportunity  because  there  was  only  a  handful  of  people 
present.  Like  Jesus,  he  was  willing  to  sit  down  and 
talk  with  even  one  woman,  if  by  so  doing  he  could  ad¬ 
vance  the  cause  of  the  Kingdom.  It  was  well  that  Paul 
acted  as  he  did  for  that  little  meeting  was  the  beginning 
of  Christianity  in  Europe.  More  was  accomplished  for 
the  Kingdom  of  God  in  that  little  gathering  than  was 
accomplished  by  Paul  when  he  preached  to  a  great 
multitude  on  Mars’  Hill  in  Athens. 

A  Household  Conversion.  Lydia  gladly  accepted 
Jesus  as  the  promised  Messiah  and  the  Saviour  of  the 
world  and  she  was  baptized  at  once.  Not  only  Lydia 
but  also  her  whole  family  believed,  and  so  there  was  not 
only  a  Christian  believer  in  Philippi  but  a  Christian 
household.  Having  become  a  believer  in  Jesus,  Lydia 
was  anxious  to  do  all  that  she  could  for  Paul  and  his 
companions,  who  were  the  missionaries  and  representa¬ 
tives  of  Jesus.  She  urgently  invited  them  to  make  her 
home  their  abiding  place  while  they  tarried  in  the  city. 
Her  modesty  and  courteous  friendship  are  manifest  in 
her  words,  “If  ye  have  judged  me  to  be  faithful  to  the 
Lord,  come  into  my  house,  and  abide  there.”  The  home 
of  Christian  hospitality  is  a  great  force  in  the  building 
up  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  There  was  now  a 
home  of  this  kind  in  Philippi. 

The  Disciples  Cast  Into  Prison.  As  Paul  and  his 
companions  were  g'oing  to  the  place  of  prayer,  perhaps 
the  next  Sabbath  after  Lydia  had  been  converted,  a  cer¬ 
tain  young  woman  who  was  a  kind  of  fortune  teller  kept 
crying  out,  “These  men  are  servants  of  the  Most  High 
God,  who  proclaim  unto  you  the  way  of  salvation.”  The 
girl  was  in  a  condition  similar  to  that  of  the  people  who 
were  said  to  be  possessed  by  demons  and  who  were  so 
often  healed  by  Jesus.  Paul  healed  the  girl,  but,  instead 
of  being  pleased,  her  masters  were  very  angry.  They  had 


226  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


made  a  great  deal  of  money  by  employing  the  girl  as 
a  fortune  teller  and  now  her  value  was  gone. 

These  men  who  had  made  money  through  the  peculiar 
faculties  of  the  girl,  stirred  up  a  mob  and  having  seized 
Paul  and  Silas,  they  dragged  them  before  the  magis¬ 
trates.  They  said,  “These  men,  being  Jews,  do  exceed¬ 
ingly  trouble  our  city,  and  set  forth  customs  which  it  is 
not  lawful  for  us  to  receive,  or  to  observe,  being 
Romans.”  Philippi  had  been  made  a  Roman  colony  and 
the  people  were  proud  of  the  citizenship  thus  bestowed 
upon  them.  This  is  why  they  added,  “being  Romans.” 
Sensible  magistrates  would  have  demanded  more  spe¬ 
cific  charges,  for  the  complaints  of  the  mob  leaders  were 
absurdly  general.  But  the  magistrates,  having  heard 
that  these  men  were  Jews,  thought  that  it  did  not  make 
any  difference  whether  the  charges  were  well-founded 
or  not.  The  Romans  despised  the  Jews  and  possibly 
the  magistrates  looked  upon  this  as  an  unusually  for¬ 
tunate  opportunity  to  curry  favor  with  the  multitudes. 
So  they  made  a  great  show  of  being  horrified  by  the 
awful  charges  lodged  against  Paul  and  Silas.  They 
tore ‘the  clothing  off  of  Paul  and  Silas  and  then  ordered 
them  to  be  flogged.  When  they  had  beaten  them  for  a 
long  time,  they  cast  them  into  prison,  charging  the 
jailer  to  keep  them  fast.  Having  received  this  charge, 
the  jailer  cast  them  into  the  inner  prison  and  made  their 
feet  fast  in  the  stocks. 

An  Earthquake  Shatters  the  Prison.  At  midnight 
Paul  and  Silas  were  praying  and  singing  psalms  and 
the  prisoners  were  listening  to  them,  when  suddenly 
the  grim  old  stone  prison  began  to  totter.  The  doors 
were  shaken  off  their  hinges  and  all  the  prisoners  were 
set  free.  The  jailer  came  rushing  in  and,  supposing 
that  the  prisoners  had  all  escaped  through  the  opened 
doors  and  the  shattered  walls  and  knowing  that  his  life 
would  be  taken  as  the  penalty  for  allowing  the  prisoners 
to  escape,  he  was  about  to  take  his  own  life.  But  Paul, 
seeing  what  the  jailer  had  in  mind  cried  out,  “Do  thy¬ 
self  no  harm:  for  we  are  all  here.”  The  jailer  called  for 
a  light  and  running  into  the  prison  he  fell  down  before 
Paul  and  Silas,  saying,  “Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  227 


saved?”  Quickly  came  the  answer,  “Believe  on  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved,  thou  and  thy 
house.”  The  jailer  then  brought  the  disciples  into  his 
own  house  and  they  explained  to  him  and  his  family 
what  it  meant  to  be  followers  of  Jesus.  Having  con¬ 
fessed  their  faith,  the  jailer  and  his  family  were  bap¬ 
tized.  Then  the  jailer  and  his  family  took  the  disciples 
and  washed  and  dressed  the  wounds  which  had  been 
made  by  the  cruel  flogging.  Then  they  set  food  before 
the  disciples  and  there  was  great  rejoicing  in  the 
household. 

The  Magistrates  Frightened.  Perhaps  the  magis¬ 
trates  heard  some  rumors  of  what  had  happened  during 
the  night  for  in  the  morning  they  sent  to  the  jailer  say¬ 
ing,  “Let  those  men  go.”  So  the  jailer  told  Paul  and 
Silas  that  they  were  at  liberty.  But  Paul  and  Silas  were 
not  willing  to  slip  away  in  such  a  manner.  So  Paul 
said,  “They  have  beaten  us  publicly,  uncondemned,  men 
that  are  Romans,  and  have  cast  us  into  prison ;  and  do 
they  now  cast  us  out  privily?  nay  verily;  but  let  them 
come  themselves  and  bring  us  out.”  When  the  magis¬ 
trates  heard  that  Paul  and  Silas  were  Romans,  they 
were  still  more  afraid,  for  to  have  treated  Roman  citi¬ 
zens  in  the  way  they  had  treated  the  disciples  was  a 
grave  offense.  So  they  came  and  humbly  begged  Paul 
and  Silas  to  leave  the  city. 

A  Farewell  Meeting  in  the  Home  of  Lydia.  When 
they  had  been  released,  Paul  and  Silas  went  to  the  home 
of  Lydia.  The  number  of  Christians  in  Philippi  had 
now  grown  to  be  quite  large.  They  had  been  distressed 
over  the  seizing  of  their  leaders,  but  now  Paul  and 
Silas  “comforted  them.”  Paul  bore  the  scars  of  the 
scourging  to  the  end  of  his  days.  He  speaks  in  one  of 
his  letters  of  bearing  “branded”  on  his  body  “the  marks 
of  Jesus.”  But  when  he  departed,  he  carried  away  no 
brooding  ill-will  against  the  city  whose  officials  had 
treated  him  so  shamefully.  He  remembered  only  the 
little  company  of  Christian  believers  which  he  had  left 
behind  and  the  letter  which  he  wrote  to  them  contains 
no  note  of  bitterness,  but  only  a  spirit  of  sublime  devo¬ 
tion  to  his  “brethren  beloved  and  longed  for,”  his  “joy 
and  crown”  of  rejoicing. 


228  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Open  House  Day  in  the  Home  oe  a  Korean 

Missionary 

The  Christian  homes  which  missionaries  establish  in 
the  midst  of  paganism  are  vastly  important  agencies  in 
the  evangelization  of  the  world.  Such  homes  are  object 
lessons  which,  better  than  any  argument  by  word  of 
mouth  or  printed  page,  lead  to  a  belief  in  the  reality  of 
the  Christian  faith.  A  missionary,  who  with  his  wife 
and  family  has  spent  many  years  in  Korea,  has  made  it 
a  custom  occasionally  to  open  his  home  completely  to 
the  people  in  the  midst  of  whom  he  lives.  The  people 
are,  of  course,  welcomed  in  the  home  at  any  time,  but  on 
this  day  they  are  free  to  go  through  the  house  and  in¬ 
spect  its  every  arrangement. 

Poor  old  women  who  have  never  known  any  other 
house  than  a  rude  hut  with  a  straw  roof  and  a  floor 
consisting  of  the  bare  ground,  find  great  delight  in  com¬ 
ing  to  the  missionary’s  home  on  this  day  of  open  house. 
They  examine  everything  minutely,  the  covering  of  the 
beds  and  the  cooking  utensils,  the  carpets  and  the  cush¬ 
ions  of  the  chairs.  They  taste  of  the  strange  foods 
which  have  been  prepared  in  a  way  entirely  unfamiliar 
to  them.  It  is  a  great  day  in  their  poor,  starved  lives 
and  they  go  away  to  talk  for  months  about  what  they 
have  seen. 

The  missionary  and  his  wife  find  these  open-house 
days  one  of  their  best  opportunities  for  teaching  the 
people  concerning  the  Christian  religion.  On  such 
occasions  the  hospitality  of  the  home  comes  in  to  re¬ 
inforce  the  teaching  of  the  missionary.  If  we  are  not 
using  our  homes  for  the  advancement  of  God’s  King¬ 
dom,  we  are  failing  to  put  to  use  one  of  the  most  im¬ 
portant  agencies  for  the  evangelization  of  the  world. 
The  Christian  home  is  just  as  important  in  our  land  as 
it  is  in  lands  across  the  sea  where  the  foreign  mis¬ 
sionaries  are  at  work  for  the  Kingdom  of  Christ. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  229 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

PHGEBE  AND  PRISCILLA 
Rom.  16:1,  2;  Acts  18:1-4,  18-28 

There  are  three  phases  of  Christian  activity  in  which 
women  have  been  supreme  from  the  very  beginnings  of 
the  Christian  Church.  To  them  has  fallen  the  impor¬ 
tant  task  of  tender  Christian  ministrations  to  the  sick, 
to  the  aged,  and  to  little  children.  They  have  furnished 
most  of  the  teachers  of  religion,  especially  those  who 
teach  the  religion  of  Jesus  to  children.  Last  of  all,  and 
perhaps  the  most  important  of  all,  they  have  been 
chiefly  responsible  for  the  creation  of  Christian  homes. 
These  activities  have  not  been  so  prominent  as  preach¬ 
ing  in  the  history  of  the  Christian  religion,  but  we  can 
hardly  believe  them  to  be  second  in  importance  to  any 
other  form  of  Christian  service.  In  this  lesson  we  are 
to  learn  about  two  women  who  took  part  in  the  forms 
of  service  which  have  been  mentioned. 

Phcebe,  the:  First  De:aconess 

A  deaconess  is  a  woman  who,  under  the  direction  of  a 
Christian  Church,  gives  her  life  to  the  care  of  the  sick, 
the  help  of  the  poor,  the  giving  of  counsel  to  those  in 
need  of  spiritual  guidance,  and  other  like  forms  of  Chris¬ 
tian  service.  We  have  studied  the  account  of  the  ap¬ 
pointing  of  the  first  deacons  as  it  is  recorded  in  the 
sixth  chapter  of  The  Acts.  The  persons  appointed  at 
that  time  were  all  men.  A  little  later  we  find  certain 
women  performing  the  kinds  of  service  for  which  these 
men  were  appointed,  so  it  is  probable  that  the  custom 
of  appointing  women  as  deaconesses  early  became  gen¬ 
eral  in  the  Church.  The  first  woman  definitely  desig¬ 
nated  as  a  deaconess  bore  the  name  of  Phoebe.  The 
name  Phoebe  means  pure,  bright,  or  radiant.  It  is  cer¬ 
tainly  an  appropriate  name  for  one  who  gave  her  life  to 
the  kindly  office  of  ministering  to  her  fellow  Christians. 

“A  Servant  of  the  Church  that  Is  in  Cenchreae.”  Rom. 
16:1,  2.  Cenchreae  is  the  eastern  port  of  Corinth,  a  kind 
of  suburb  of  that  city.  Paul  had  organized  a  church  in 


230  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Corinth  on  his  second  missionary  journey.  The  growth 
and  influence  of  this  church  may  have  resulted  in  the 
organization  of  a  church  in  Cenchreae.  It  was  in  the 
church  at  Cenchreae  that  Phoebe  became  known  for  her 
work  in  the  cause  of  Christ’s  Kingdom.  Paul  tells  us 
that  Phoebe  was  the  helper  of  many  and  that  he  him¬ 
self  had  been  helped  by  her.  We  do  not  know  just 
when,  or  in  what  way,  Phoebe  helped  Paul.  We  know 
that  Paul  was  afflicted  with  some  chronic  malady  which 
he  called  “a  thorn  in  the  flesh.”  We  know,  too,  that  at 
certain  times  he  almost  gave  way  under  the  terrific 
strain  of  his  incessant  labors  and  his  constant  conflict 
with  powerful  opposing  forces.  Whether  Phoebe 
brought  physical  comfort  to  the  apostle  by  ministering 
to  him  in  times  of  sickness,  or  whether  she  brought  him 
spiritual  comfort  at  some  time  when  dark  despair  was 
crowding  down  upon  his  soul,  we  do  not  know.  Both 
forms  of  ministry  would  have  come  within  the  kind  of 
services  which  a  deaconess  is  called  upon  to  perform. 

A  Letter  of  Commendation  to  the  Christian  Church  in 
Rome.  In  our  day  when  Christians  remove  from  one 
community  to  another  they  are  given  letters  of  com¬ 
mendation  from  the  church  in  the  community  from  which 
they  have  removed  to  a  church  in  the  community  where 
they  are  to  make  their  future  homes.  Phcebe  left  her 
home  in  Cenchreae  to  travel  to  Rome  that  she  might 
make  that  city  her  home.  In  his  letter  to  the  Romans, 
Paul  gives  Phoebe  a  kind  of  church  letter.  He  says,  “I 
commend  unto  you  Phoebe  our  sister.”  He  tells  them  of 
the  good  work  she  has  done  in  the  community  where 
she  has  been  living,  and  asks  the  Roman  Christians  to 
give  her  their  assistance  in  every  possible  way.  Such 
a  letter  must  have  been  very  helpful  to  a  woman  who 
was  going  into  a  great  city  like  Rome  where  she  must 
meet  only  strangers. 

Bearer  of  an  Immortal  Document.  It  has  been  sug¬ 
gested  that,  since  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  contains 
this  section  commending  Phoebe  to  the  Roman  Chris¬ 
tians,  Phoebe  was  the  bearer  of  the  letter  from  Cen- 
chrese  to  Rome.  Of  course,  we  cannot  be  sure  of  this 
but  it  seems  probable.  In  most  of  his  letters  Paul  made 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOELOWERS  OF  JESUS  231 


some  kindly  reference  to  the  person  who  was  to  act  as 
bearer  of  the  letter  to  those  for  whom  it  was  written. 
In  closing  the  letter  to  the  Romans,  Paul  sends  the 
greetings  of  many  of  his  helpers,  and  Tertius,  who 
penned  the  letter  for  Paul,  inserts  a  little  word  of  greet¬ 
ing,  but  none  of  these  men  are  mentioned  as  being  the 
bearer  of  the  letter  to  Rome,  whereas  Phoebe  is  men¬ 
tioned  as  though  she  were  soon  to  arrive  in  Rome.  It 
is  likely,  therefore,  that  on  her  journey  over  the  sea 
Phoebe  carried  under  her  mantle  the  precious  manuscript 
which  was  to  live  throughout  the  centuries  and  point 
the  way  to  God  through  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus 
of  Nazareth. 

PrisciIvI^a,  Home:  Mak^r  and  Te:ache:r 

Jesus  once  said,  “The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds 
of  the  heaven  have  nests ;  but  the  Son  of  man  hath  not 
where  to  lay  his  head.”  In  this  respect  Paul  was  like 
his  Master.  He  had  no  home  of  his  own  during  most  of 
the  days  of  his  ministry.  As  Jesus  had  the  quiet  home 
in  Bethany  as  a  haven  where  he  occasionally  withdrew, 
so  Paul  found  here  and  there  homes  which  were  open 
to  him.  We  have  seen  how  Lydia  received  him  into  her 
home  when  he  was  a  stranger  in  Philippi.  A  little  later 
he  was  an  honored  guest  in  the  home  of  the  Philippian 
jailer. 

A  Home  in  Which  Paul  Was  a  Welcome  Guest.  Acts 
18:1-4.  When  Paul  car^e  to  Corinth  on  his  second  mis¬ 
sionary  journey,  he  became  acquainted  with  a  Jew  named 
Aquila  and  his  wife,  Priscilla.  Paul  had  learned  a  trade 
in  his  youth  and  it  was  doubtless  often  helpful  to  him  in 
earning  a  living.  He  had  learned  to  make  the  coarse 
haircloth  out  of  which  tents  were  manufactured.  Paul 
turned  to  his  trade  when  he  first  came  to  Corinth  and 
in  this  way  he  first  met  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  for  they 
were  tentmakers,  too.  There  is  always  a  kind  of  fellow¬ 
ship  between  people  who  work  at  the  same  trade  and 
so  it  came  about  that  Paul  was  asked  to  make  his  home 
with  Aquila  and  Priscilla.  Aquila  and  his  wife  are  illus¬ 
trations  of  the  wide  wanderings  of  many  people  of  that 
day.  Aquila  had  been  born  in  a  country  south  of  the 


232  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Black  Sea  known  as  Pontus.  He  and  his  wife  had  lived 
in  Rome  and  had  been  driven  from  that  city  by  a  decree 
of  Claudius  Caesar  banishing  all  Jews  from  Rome.  Later 
Aquila  and  Priscilla  accompanied  Paul  to  Ephesus. 
They  must  have  gone  again  to  Rome  for  Paul  includes 
them  among  the  people  to  whom  he  sends  salutation  by 
name  in  his  letter  to  Roman  Christians.  They  must 
have  returned  to  Ephesus  a  second  time,  however,  for 
in  his  second  letter  to  Timothy  which  Paul  wrote  near 
the  end  of  his  life  he  says,  ‘‘Salute  Prisca  and  Aquila.” 
Since  Timothy  was  probably  in  Ephesus  and  the  letter 
sent  there,  these  two  friends  of  Paul  must  have  been 
there  also. 

Aquila  and  Priscilla  Become  the  Teachers  of  Apollos. 

Acts  18:24-28.  When  Apollos  came  to  Ephesus  full  of 
enthusiasm  for  the  new  light  which  he  had  seen  in  the 
doctrines  preached  by  John  the  Baptist,  he  soon  met 
Aquila  and  Priscilla.  These  two  took  Apollos  under 
their  care  as  their  pupil  and  diligently  taught  him  the 
things  concerning  Jesus.  From  this  school  of  two 
teachers  and  one  pupil  Apollos  went  forth  to  preach  the 
gospel  of  Christ  in  Achaia.  Aquila  and  Priscilla  had 
been  able  to  turn  in  the  direction  of  larger  service  a 
man  who  had  great  powers  of  mind  and  who  did  a  great 
work  for  the  spread  of  the  Church.  It  is  always  thus 
with  the  work  of  the  teacher.  The  teachers  light  the 
torches  which  enlighten  the  world. 

A  Lad  Who  Never  Had  a  Home 

Donald  C - -  was  the  son  of  wealthy  parents. 

His  father  owned  a  great  deal  of  property  in  a  large 
California  town,  as  well  as  some  thousands  of  acres 
in  the  rich  and  beautiful  Sacramento  Valley.  Donald 
had  about  all  the  things  that  money  can  buy,  but  there 
are  some  things — and  they  are  the  most  important 
things — which  money  cannot  buy.  Donald’s  father  was 
too  busy  to  spend  any  time  with  his  little  son  while  his 
boy  was  young,  and  as  Donald  grew  older  he  ceased  to 
care  for  his  father’s  companionship.  There  did  not  seem 
to  be  any  interests  common  to  the  two.  The  father  was 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  233 


interested  only  in  matters  of  business  and  talked  only  of 
l:)onds  and  investments  and  speculations.  Donald  did 
not  seem  to  be  able  to  take  an  interest  in  such  things 
and  he  gradually  drifted  away  into  the  company  of  young 
fellows  who  were  low  and  vicious. 

Donald’s  mother  was  of  hardly  more  help  to  him 
than  his  father  was.  She  was  always  busy  with  her 
clubs  and  the  functions  of  the  social  group  to  which  she 
belonged.  In  his  babyhood  days  Donald  was  under  the 
care  of  a  nurse,  but  as  he  grew  into  boyhood  and  man¬ 
hood  he  did  pretty  much  as  he  pleased.  When  he  stayed 
at  home  nights  the  house  seemed  lonely  and  cheerless,  so 
he  formed  the  habit  of  staying  out  late  and  having  what 
he  called  “a  good  time.” 

One  day  the  parents  awoke  to  the  consciousness  that 
all  was  not  well  with*  their  son.  He  was  becoming  a 
victim  to  alcoholism  and  sometimes  came  home  intox¬ 
icated.  They  were  alarmed  and  tried  to  reclaim  him 
from  the  evil  habits  which  had  fastened  themselves  upon 
him.  They  had  neglected  their  duty  too  long,  however, 
and  their  son  went  steadily  downward.  His  dissolute 
life  brought  on  tuberculosis  and  one  night  he  died  in  a 
little  untidy  room  of  a  third-class  hotel  in  one  of  the 
large  cities  of  the  state. 

Some  months  before  he  died  Donald  happened'  to  be 
in  the  home  of  a  young  man  whom  he  had  known  all  his 
life.  This  young  man  had  a  lovely  home  although  he 
was  not  rich.  When  Donald  saw  the  happiness  of  his 
friend,  witnessed  the  strong  bond  of  love  which  bound 
together  its  inmates,  husband,  wife,  and  children,  he 
said  to  his  friend:  ‘T  tell  you,  Frank,  what  has  been  the 
matter  with  me  all  my  life.  I  have  never  had  a  home. 
If  I  had  had  a  home  when  I  was  a  child  and  when  I  was 
a  boy,  it  might  have  been  different  with  me.” 

Thi:  Lksson  Prayer 

We  ask  thy  blessing,  our  Father,  upon  our  homes. 
Teach  us  how  to  do  our  part  in  making  them  truly 
Christian.  Help  us  to  be  obedient  to  our  parents  and 
show  us  how  to  honor  them  in  all  things.  May  we  not 
be  selfish  in  our  home  life,  but  seek  to  make  our  homes 


234  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 

useful  to  thee  in  the  building  of  thy  Kingdom  of  broth¬ 
erhood  in  the  world.  We  ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“O  Little  Town  of  Bethlehem.”  “Studies  of  Familiar 
Hymns,”  page  1.  _ 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

USING  OUR  HOMES  FOR  THE  ADVANCEMENT  OF 

GOD’S  KINGDOM 

Luke  10:38-42;  Psalm  128 

In  the  lessons  which  we  have  been  studying,  we  have 
seen  how  Lydia  and  Priscilla  used  their  homes  to  ad¬ 
vance  God’s  Kingdom  in  the  wotld.  They  were  people 
who  had  a  true  spirit  of  hospitality  and  Christian  fellow- 
'ship.  Philemon  likewise  used  his  home  for  the  advance¬ 
ment  of  God’s  Kingdom  by  offering  it  to  the  Christians 
of  Colossse  for  a  place  of  meeting.  Several  times  we 
hear  of  these  churches  in  homes  as  we  read  the  New 
Testament.  It  is  probable  that  homes  were  the  most 
common  meeting  places  in  the  Early  Church. 

Our  Scripture  lesson,  ‘  chosen  from  Luke’s  Gospel, 
tells  how  Mary  and  Martha  and  Lazarus  used  their 
homes  as  an  agency  for  advancing  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
They  offered  it  as  a  place  where  Jesus  could  come 'and 
rest  from  his  labors  and  talk  quietly  with  his  friends. 

The  psalm  chosen  for  the  lesson  is  a  picture  of  a  happy, 
religious  household.  It  puts  the  fear  of  Jehovah  as  the 
central  necessity  for  such  a  home.  It  shows  us  a  happy 
family  gathered  about  the  table  partaking  of  the  food 
which  has  been  earned  in  honest  toil.  It  speaks  of  the 
joy  which  a  father  finds  in  his  wife  and  children  and  in 
the  peace  and  love  of  a  pure  and  religious  home  life. 

Some  Truths  erom  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

When  Paul  went  into  a  house  as  a  guest,  he  left  a 
blessing  behind  for  all  who  were  members  of  the 
household. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  235 


There  were  Christian  homes  in  Europe  before  there 
was  a  Christian  Church  in  Europe.  It  is  of  no  use  to 
build  altars  in  the  Church  if  there  are  none  in  the 
•  homes. 

The  Philippian  jailer  fastened  the  feet  of  the  apostles 
in  cruel  stocks  before  he  was  converted ;  but  after  his 
conversion  he  took  the  apostles  into  his  own  home  and 
dressed  their  wounds.  He  used  his  home  as  a  hospital 
and  a  place  for  the  teaching  of  the  gospel. 

When  Phoebe  went  as  a  stranger  to  Rome,  Paul  wrote 
a  letter  which  would  open  Christian  hearts  and  Christian 
homes  to  her. 

Priscilla  and  Aquila  opened  their  home  to  Paul  be¬ 
cause  he  was  a  tentmaker  like  themselves,  but  the  com¬ 
ing  in  of  the  great  apostle  meant  a  change  in  their  lives 
which  made  them  instruments  for  God’s  use  in  building 
his  Kingdom. 

Re:vii^w  Questions 

1.  Tell  the  story  of  Lydia’s  conversion  to  Christianity. 

2.  How  did  Paul  and  Silas  happen  to  be  cast  into  the 
prison  at  Philippi? 

3.  What  evidences  were  there  that  the  conversion  of 
the  jailer  was  genuine? 

4.  What  phases  of  Christian  service  belong  esp^^ially 
to  women? 

5.  Describe  the  work  of  a  deaconess. 

6.  What  service  had  Phoebe  rendered  to  Paul  ? 

7.  How  did  Paul  show  his  high  opinion  of  Phoebe? 

8.  How  did  Paul  become  acquainted  with  Aquila  and 
Priscilla?  What  influence  did  he  have  over  their  lives? 

9.  Why  is  teaching  an  important  factor  in  advancing 
God’s  Kingdom  in  the  world? 

10.  What  kind  of  home  is  described  in  Psalm  128? 

Bibtd  Ve:rse:s 

II  Sam.  6:12;  Prov.  12:7;  Mark  3:25;  Luke  5:29;  Acts 
2 :46;  Rom.  12 :9-13 ;  Titus  1 :8;  Heb.  13  :2;  I  Peter  4:8,  9; 
HI  John  5. 


236  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Study  Topics 

1.  The  Hospitality  of  Abraham.  Gen.  18:1-8. 

2.  The  Hospitality  of  Laban.  Gen.  24 :28-49. 

3.  The  Flospitality  of  a  Shunammite  Woman.  H  Kings 

4  :8-37. 

4.  The  Hospitality  of  Levi  the  Publican.  Luke 

5  :29-32. 

5.  Jesus  in  the  Home  of  Zacchaeus.  Luke  19:1-9. 

6.  The  True  Spirit  of  Hospitality.  Luke  3:11;  Matt. 
5:42. 

7.  Jesus  in  the  Home  of  a  Pharisee.  Luke  7 :36-50. 

8.  Ways  in  Which  We  Can  Use  Our  Homes  for  the 
Good  of  the  Church. 

9.  The  Importance  of  Religion  in  the  Life  of  the 
Home.  (To  be  taken  by  the  pastor  of  the  church.) 

10.  The  Family  Altar;  and  W^ays  of  Conducting 
Worship  in  the  Home.  (To  be  taken  by  an  officer  in 
the  church,  or  some  other  adult  person  capable  of  giving 
suggestions  as  to  how  family  worship  may  be  carried 
on.) 

Putting  the  Truths  oe  the  Lesson  Into  Practice 

Have  the  Social  Committee  plan  for  socials  in  the 
home,  the  object  of  these  socials  to  be  not  the  pleasure 
of  the  members  of  the  class  but  the  winning  of  new 
recruits  for  the  church  school.  Appoint  a  committee  to 
report  on  suitable  pictures  for  home  decoration.  Have 
members  of  the  class  offer  themselves  as  visitors  for  the 
Plome  Department  and  the  Cradle  Roll,  if  these  depart¬ 
ments  of  the  church  school  are  in  existence ;  if  they  have 
not  been  organized,  see  what  can  be  done  toward  starting 
them.  Send  flowers  to  the  homes  of  those  who  are 
sick. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


NICODEMUS  AND  JOSEPH  OF  ARIMATH^A, 
SECRET  DISCIPLES  OF  JESUS 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

A  MAN  WHO  CAME  TO  JESUS  BY  NIGHT 
John  3:1-21;  7:45-52;  19:38-42 

As  Jesus  went  about  the  country  preaching  and  heal¬ 
ing,  people  formed  widely  different  opinions  concerning 
him.  Some  who  were  blinded  by  prejudice  said,  “He 
is  an  imposter  and  in  league  with  the  prince  of  the 
demons.’’  Some  said,  “He  is  a  good  man.”  Others 
maintained  that  he  was  a  good  man  but  mistaken  in  his 
ideas  and  therefore  dangerous  because  he  led  the  people 
astray.  Some  of  his  relatives  and  friends  thought  that 
Jesus  was  mentally  unbalanced.  There  were  others  who 
saw  in  Jesus  the  fearlessness  and  the  righteous  indigna¬ 
tion  of  some  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets.  These 
said,  “This  is  one  of  the  prophets  come  to  life  again.” 
There  were  a  few  who,  like  Peter,  had  come  to  see  the 
grandeur  of  the  character  of  Jesus  and  who  said,  “This 
is  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.”  There  were 
some  people  who  were  convinced  that  Jesus  had  come 
from  God  and  wished  in  their  hearts  to  be  his  followers, 
but  who  lacked  the  courage  to  come  out  publicly  with 
a  confession  of  their  faith  in  him.  In  this  chapter  we 
are  to  study  about  two  of  these  people  who  did  not  have 
the  courage  to  back  up  their  convictions  with  an  open 
confession  of  their  faith  in  Jesus. 

A  Member  of  the  Sanhedrin  Who  Was  Impressed  by 
the  Miracles  of  Jesus.  John  3:1-3.  Nicodemus  was  a 
Pharisee  and  a  member  of  the  highest  Jewish  court 
called  the  sanhedrin.  He  was  less  prejudiced  than  most 
of  the  Pharisees ;  consequently  he  was  more  honest  at 
heart  than  they.  He  could  not  believe  that  Jesus  wrought 
miracles  through  the  aid  of  Beelzebub.  Pie  saw  that 

237 


238  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Jesus’  acts  of  healing  were  done  in  a  spirit  of  compas¬ 
sion  for  those  in  distress  and  were  not  at  all  a  display 
used  to  gain  favor  with  the  multitudes.  But  Nicodemus 
was  a  Pharisee  high  in  office.  The  Jewish  leaders  had 
already  rejected  Jesus  and  Nicodemus  knew  that  he 
would  lose  a  great  deal  if  he  should  proclaim  himself 
a  believer  in  Jesus.  He  would  be  despised  by  his  asso¬ 
ciates  and  deprived  of  his  office ;  perhaps  in  the  end  his 
life  would  pay  the  penalty.  Nicodemus  knew  well  the 
fierce  opposition  which  his  fellow  Pharisees  had  already 
developed  toward  Jesus;  therefore  he  hesitated.  He 
wished  to  find  some  middle  ground  which  would  not 
subject  him  to  so  severe  a  loss.  And  so  he  came  to  have 
a  talk  with  Jesus.  He  came  at  night,  that  his  coming 
might  not  be  known  to  his  fellow  Pharisees. 

The  Conversation  on  the  Housetop.  John  3:4-21. 
Jesus  knew  that  Nicodemus  must  have  something  more 
than  a  sense  of  wonder  at  the  miracles  he  had  witnessed 
if  he  were  to  become  a  true  disciple.  So  Jesus  said 
nothing  at  all  about  the  miracles  of  healing  which  had 
so  impressed  Nicodemus.  He  told  Nicodemus  of  some 
sublime  truths,  some  spiritual  miracles,  as  it  were,  of 
which  Nicodemus  had  not  yet  caught  even  a  glimpse. 
He  told  him  of  the  new  birth,  of  the  infinite  love  of  God 
which  caused  him  to  send  his  Son  into  the  world,  of  the 
descent  of  the  Son  of  Man  from  heaven  to  earth,  and 
of  the  lifting  up  of  the  Son  of  Man  that  all  men  might 
be  drawn  to  him. 

Nicodemus  had  witnessed  some  of  the  miracles  of 
healing  and  had  come  to  Jesus  to  say,  “Rabbi,  we  know 
that  thou  art  a  teacher  come  from  God;  for  no  one  can 
do  these  signs  that  thou  doest,  except  God  be  with  him.” 
In  the  conversation  which  followed  Jesus  gave  Nico¬ 
demus  additional  evidence  that  he  was  a  teacher  come 
from  God,  for  the  truths  taught  by  Jesus  are  a  proof 
that  he  came  from  God.  But  Nicodemus  could  not  bring 
his  courage  up  to  the  point  required  for  an  open  confes¬ 
sion  of  his  faith  in  Jesus  and  so  he  went  away  to  keep 
his  seat  in  the  sanhedrin  and  to  try  to  be  a  follower  of 
Jesus  without  letting  anyone  know  about  it. 

A  Voice  of  Protest  in  the  Sanhedrin.  John  7:45-52. 
It  must  have  been  a  trying  time  for  Nicodemus,  those 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  239 


days  when  he  met  with  the  other  Pharisees  in  the  san¬ 
hedrin  and  in  social  gatherings,  and  when  he  heard  day 
after  day  the  bitter  and  unceasing  denunciations  of  Jesus 
by  his  companions.  He  must  have  felt  many  times  that 
he  ought  to  speak  out  in  defense  of  the  teacher  whom 
he  believed  had  come  from  God,  but  he  thought  of  the 
consequences  of  such  an  utterance  and  he  held  his  peace. 

Then  the  time  came  when  the  sanhedrin  decided  that 
Jesus  must  be  seized  and  put  to  death.  Nicodemus  heard 
all  that  was  said  and  he  still  kept  silence.  His  position 
was  becoming  more  and  more  desperate.  Was  he  to  sit 
in  a  court  which  was  condemning  a  man  unheard  and 
seeking  to  take  his  life  in  such  an  irregular  way?  If  he 
still  kept  still,  would  he  himself  not  be  a  party  to  the 
crime?  Thoughts  like  these  must  have  come  to  Nico¬ 
demus  in  the  days  when  the  sanhedrin  was  plotting  to 
destroy  Jesus. 

At  last  the  sanhedrin  sent  officers  to  seize  Jesus.  These 
officers  found  Jesus  speaking  to  the  people.  They  were 
so  impressed  by  what  Jesus  was  saying  that  they  made 
no  attempt  to  seize  him.  They  returned  empty-handed 
to  the  sanhedrin.  “Why  did  ye  not  bring  him?”  de¬ 
manded  the  leaders  of  the  Pharisees.  The  officers  re¬ 
plied,  “Never  man  so  spake.”  The  Pharisees  replied 
sneeringly :  “Are  ye  also  led  astray?  Hath  any  of  the 
rulers  believed  on  him,  or  of  the  Pharisees?  But  this 
multitude  that  knoweth  not  the  law  are  accursed.” 
Nicodemus  was  sitting  there  among  the  Pharisees.  He 
heard  all  that  was  said.  He  was  both  a  ruler  and  a 
Pharisee  and  he  had  believed  on  Jesus.  Was  he  to 
continue  to  keep  silence?  Should  he  allow  the  statement 
that  no  ruler  or  Pharisee  had  believed  on  Jesus  to  go 
unchallenged?  The  time  had  come  when  he  must  speak, 
or  by  his  silence  deny  his  Lord.  So  he  spoke  out  and 
said,  “Doth  our  law  judge  a  man,  except  it  first  hear 
from  himself  and  know  what  he  doeth?”  This  was  not 
a  confession  of  faith  in  Jesus,  but  it  was  the  first  word 
which  had  been  spoken  and  which  expressed  any  desire 
to  see  justice  done.  It  aroused  the  Pharisees  to  a  frenzy 
of  rage  and  apprehension.  The  multitudes  had  become 
followers  of  Jesus,  the  officers  sent  to  arrest  him  had 


240  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


been  so  impressed  that  they  made  no  attempt  to  seize 
him,  and  now  one  of  their  most  prominent  members  had 
opened  his  mouth  in  defense  of  the  Galilaean  teacher. 
Turning  in  scorn  upon  Nicodemus  they  said;  “Art  thou 
also  .of  Galilee?  Search,  and  see  that  out  of  Galilee 
ariseth  no  prophet.”  If  Nicodemus  believed  that  Jesus 
was  a  teacher  come  from  God,  he  should  have  said  more 
than  he  did.  He  should  have  protested  vigorously 
against  the  criminal  proceedings  under  which  Jesus  was 
being  condemned  and  hounded  to  his  death.  But  Nico¬ 
demus  was  not  of  that  heroic  type  of  men  who  are 
willing  to  suffer  and  die  for  the  truth ;  at  least,  he  had 
not  reached  that  stage  of  development  yet.  For  the 
time  being,  he  was  silenced  by  the  sneers  and  the  false 
Biblical  interpretations  of  his  opponents.  He  was  not 
yet  able  to  stand  steadfastly  for  righteousness  and  to 
stand  alone. 

Myrrh  and  Aloes  for  the  Body  of  Jesus.  John  19 :38-42. 
It  is  probable  that  Nicodemus  was  not  present  in  that 
stormy  session  of  the  sanhedrin  when  Jesus  was  con¬ 
demned.  We  can  hardly  believe  that  he  could  have  kept 
silence  during  such  scenes  of  violence  and  shame  as 
marked  the  trial  and  condemnation  of  Jesus.  It  may  be 
that  he  had  not  been  summoned  to  the  meeting  because 
of  his  known  sympathy  with  Jesus.  We  hear  of  him 
again  only  after  Jesus  had  been  crucified.  A  certain 
man  named  Joseph  took  away  the  body  of  Jesus  and 
carried  it  to  his  own  tomb.  Nicodemus  brought  about 
a  hundred  pounds  of  myrrh  and  aloes  with  which  to 
prepare  the  body  of  Jesus  for  burial.  By  this  act  Nico¬ 
demus  openly  declared  himself  the  friend  of  Jesus.  The 
preparing  of  the  body  of  a  person  for  burial  was  a  task 
performed  by  the  relatives  and  close  friends  of  the  de¬ 
parted.  The  Pharisees  must  have  understood  at  once 
the  significance  of  this  open  act  of  Nicodemus. 

Too  Late  for  the  Largest  Service.  Nicodemus  might 
have  done  something  of  vastly  more  importance  than 
preparing  the  body  of  Jesus  for  burial.  He  had  an 
opportunity  to  defend  Jesus  in  an  hour  of  need.  Had 
he  come  out  courageously  at  the  first,  although  he  could 
not  have  saved  Jesus  from  the  envy  of  the  Pharisees, 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  241 


he  could  have  set  a  good  example  to  others  who  like 
himself  were  halting  between  two  opinions.  He  might 
have  become  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  disciples.  He 
might  have  been  like  Paul  or  Peter.  Pie  waited  too  long. 
He  lost  his  most  sublime  opportunities  while  he  was  a 
secret  disciple.  Myrrh  and  aloes  for  the  body  of  Jesus 
could  not  make  up  for  the  failure  to  confess  his  Lord 
openly  and  without  regard  to  consequences. 

Plow  Tom  Brown  Camk  to  Ss:e  the  Shame  oe  Secret 

Discipeeship 

Tom  Brown  was  brought  up  in  a  Christian  home. 
His  mother  taught  him  to  read  the  Bible  and  to  say  his 
prayers  at  night.  When  Tom  was  twelve  or  thirteen 
years  old  he  was  sent  away  to  a  boarding  school.  The 
good  mother  knew  that  her  son  would  find  some  new 
temptations  in  his  new  environment  and  she  was  anxious 
about  him.  She  asked  him  to  read  his  Bible  every  day 
and  to  pray  to  God  every  night  as  she  had  taught  him 
from  his  childhood.  Tom  promised  her  that  he  would. 

When  Tomi  went  into  the  big  dormitory  the  first 
night,  he  felt  very  lonesome  and  he  did  not  like  to  kneel 
down  by  his  bed  to  say  his  prayers  when  all  the  other 
boys  were  talking  and  laughing.  He  was  afraid  that 
they  would  laugh  at  him  and  think  that  he  was  a  kind 
of  baby.  So  he  got  into  bed  and  waited  until  the  lights 
were  out;  then  he  got  out  of  bed,  knelt  down,  and  said 
his  prayers.  After  a  few  nights  he  concluded  that  he 
had  just  as  well  say  his  prayers  in  bed.  Then  he  began 
to  forget  about  his  prayers  sometimes.  At  last  it  came 
to  pass  that  he  hardly  ever  said  his  prayers  at  all. 

At  about  this  time  a  timid  little  fellow  named  Arthur 
came  to  the  school.  The  first  night  Arthur  was  in  the 
dormitorv  he  looked  about  the  1)ig  room  after  he  was 
ready  for  bed.  He  hesitated,  for  the  boys  were  all  talking 
and  laughing  as  they  had  done  on  the  night  when  Tom 
first  came  to  the  school.  But  Arthur  did  not  do  as  Tom 
did.  He  knelt  down  beside  his  bed  to  say  his  prayers. 
Almost  instantly  the  talking  and  laughing  ceased.  Then 
a  big  bully  threw  a  shoe  at  Arthur  calling  him  a  “sniv- 


242  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


eling  young  shaver.”  That  was  too  much  for  Tom  and 
in  a  moment  the  boot  which  he  had  just  drawn  off  flew 
straight  at  the  head  of  the  bully,  who  had  just  time  to 
throw  up  his  arm  and  catch  it  on  his  elbow.  “Confound 
you,  Brown,  what  does  that  mean?”  roared  the  bully. 
“Never  mind  what  I  mean,”  said  Tom.  “If  any  fellow 
wants  the  other,  boot  he  knows  how  to  get  it.”  As  he 
lay  on  his  bed  that  night  Tom  saw  what  a  coward  he, 
had  been  and  how  much  more  courageous  little  Arthur 
was  than  any  of  the  boys  who  had  laughed  at  him  for 
saying  his  prayers.  He  resolved  that  henceforth  he 
would  play  the  man  and  do  what  he  knew  to  be  right, 
what  he  had  promised  his  mother  to  do.  The  next  night 
when  Arthur  knelt  to  say  his  prayers,  Tom  knelt,  too. 
It  was  not  many  days  before  others  boys  followed  the 
example  set  by  Arthur  and  Tom,  and  before  the  end  of 
the  year  there  were  few  of  the  boys  who  did  not  kneel 
by  their  beds  at  night. 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

ANOTHER  MEMBER  OF  THE  SANHEDRIN  WHO  WAS 

A  SECRET  DISCIPLE 

Matt.  27:57-60;  Mark  15:42-47;  Luke  23:50-56;  John 

19:38-41 

Nicodemus  was  not  the  only  member  of  the  sanhedrin 
who  believed  in  Jesus  and  tried  to  be  a  secret  disciple. 
There  was  a  man  named  Joseph  who  lived  in  a  town 
called  Arimathaea  who  believed  in  Jesus  but  who  did  not 
confess  his  faith  openly  for  a  long  time.  There  may 
have  been  other  Pharisees  and  officials  who  believed  in 
Jesus  as  Nicodemus  and  Joseph  of  Arimathaea  did,  but 
who  kept  their  beliefs  to  themselves  because  they  were 
in  the  minority  and  because  they  did  not  have  that 
courageous  devotion  to  truth  which  was  capable  of  mak¬ 
ing  them  open  disciples  of  Christ.  We  learn  in  The 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  that  soon  after  the  Day  of  Pentecost 
there  was  a  multitude  of  priests  who  believed.  This 
multitude  of  believing  priests  may  have  been  made  up 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  243 

largely  of  those  who  had  been  secret  believers  in  Jesus 
during  the  days  of  his  ministry,  and  who  after  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  Jesus  gained  courage  to  confess 
their  faith  before  their  fellow  men. 

“A  Good  and  Righteous  Man  .  .  .  Who  Was  Look¬ 
ing  for  the  Kingdom  of  God.”  Luke  23:50,  51.  All  the 
Gospel  narratives  speak  in  high  terms  of  the  character 
of  Joseph  of  Arimathsea.  Luk'e  says  that  he  “was  a 
councilor,  a  good  and  righteous  man  .  .  .  who  was  look¬ 
ing  for  the  kingdom  of  God.”  Luke  also  tells  us  that 
Joseph  had  not  consented  to  the  verdict  of  the  sanhedrin 
which  condemned  Jesus  and  that  he  had  not  given  his 
consent  to  the  fixing  of  the  death  penalty.  Indeed,  as 
we  read  the  accounts  of  the  trial  of  Jesus  before  the 
sanhedrin  given  in  the  Gospel  narratives,  we  see  that 
there  was  no  formal  vote  taken.  The  high  priest,  hav¬ 
ing  heard  the  claim  of  Jesus  to  being  God’s  Son,  rent 
his  clothes  and  cried  out  saying:  “What  further  need 
have  we  of  witnesses?  Ye  have  heard  the  blasphemy: 
what  think  ye?”  There  was  an  answering  shout  from 
the  assembly  saying  that  Jesus  was  worthy  of  death,  but 
there  was  apparently  no  opportunity  given  for  a  negative 
vote.  Luke’s  statement  means  that  Joseph  of  Arimathsea 
had  not  joined  in  this  clamorous  verdict  which  declared 
Jesus  guilty  of  blasphemy.  It  may  be  that  he  even  raised 
his  voice  in  protest;  we  do  not  know. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Joseph  tried  to  be  a  secret 
disciple  rather  than  an  open  disciple  of  Jesus.  He  could 
not  help  either  Jesus  or  the  cause  of  the  Kingdom  very 
much  by  being  a  secret  disciple.  Here  was  a  man  who 
was  looking  and  longing  for  the  Kingdom  of  God,  but 
who  did  not  have  the  courage  to  give  up  all,  if  necessary, 
that  the  Kingdom  might  come. 

A  Secret  Disciple  Grown  Bold.  Mark  15:42-47.  After 
Joseph  had  seen  Jesus  on  trial,  scourged,  crowned  with 
thorns,  and  crucified,  he  stopped  trying  to  be  a  secret 
disciple.  Mark  says  that  he  went  “boldly”  to  Pilate  and 
asked  for  the  body  of  Jesus  that  he  might  give  it  a  decent 
burial.  Joseph  evidently  felt  that  he  could  no  longer 
refuse  to  acknowledge  his  faith  in  one  who  had  lived 
and  died  for  the  truth  in  the  way  that  Jesus  had  lived 


244  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


and  died.  To  go  to  Pilate  and  ask  for  the  body,  did, 
indeed,  require  boldness.  It  marked  Joseph  as  a  disciple 
of  Jesus  at  a  time  when  the  followers  of  Jesus  were 
scattered  and  in  hiding.  It  was  a  time  when  the  cause 
of  Jesus  seemed  forever  and  hopelessly  lost.  Joseph 
must  have  known  that  the  fierce  hatred  of  the  Pharisees 
and  priests  would  be  turned  toward  him  as  a  traitor  to 
his  country  and  an  apostate  to  the  faith  of  his  fathers. 
Yet  he  cared  for  none  of  these  things  now.  He  had  been 
a  secret  disciple  long  enough  and  was  evidently  sorry 
for  his  cowardice.  He  would  do  what  he  could  to  make 
amends  to  the  Master  whom  he  had  loved  but  failed  to 
honor  as  he  should. 

And  so  it  came  to  pass  that,  when  nearly  all  the  fol¬ 
lowers  of  Jesus  had  fled  and  were  in  hiding,  Joseph  of 
Arimathaea,  a  secret  disciple  for  fear  of  the  Jews,  took 
the  lead  in  removing  the  body  of  Jesus  from  the  cross 
and  preparing  it  for  burial. 

The  New  Rock-Hewn  Tomb.  Luke  23:53-56.  Joseph 
owned  a  newly  constructed  tomb  in  a  burial  place  near 
Jerusalem  and  it  was  here  that  the  body  of  Jesus  was 
laid.  Joseph  seemed  to  feel  that  he  had  done  so  little 
for  Jesus  during  the  days  that  Jesus  was  alive  that  he 
ought  to  do  all  that  he  could  now.  He  saw  now  the 
great  mistake  which  he  had  made  in  trying  to  be  a  secret 
disciple.  Certain  precious  opportunities  to  learn  of  Jesus 
and  to  help  his  cause  had  gone  beyond  recall,  but  Joseph 
was  determined  to  do  what  he  could  to  show  his  love 
for  Jesus.  He  could  not  now  invite  Jesus  to  his  home; 
he  could,  however,  give  his  body  a  resting  place.  He 
could  become  an  open  disciple  and  face  the  enemies  of 
Jesus  with  an  avowal  of  his  allegiance  to  the  crucified 
Saviour. 

A  Storm  Which  Helped  a  Young  Lad  to  Appreciate 

His  Mother 

Elbert  lived  in  the  country  and  attended  school  in  a 
little  frame  schoolhouse  a  mile  from  his  home.  He  was 
a  boy  who  usually  wished  to  do  what  was  right,  but 
sometimes  he  was  irritable  with  his  mother  and  other 
members  of  the  family  and  seemed  to  have  little  appre- 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  245 


ciation  of  all  that  was  done  for  him.  One  morning  when 
his  mother  called  him  to  get  up  and  get  ready  for  school, 
he  did  not  feel  like  getting  out  of  bed  so  he  murmured 
a  drowsy,  “well,”  in  answer  to  his  mother’s  call  and 
was  soon  asleep  again.  When  his  mother  called  again, 
he  grew  peevish  and  came  down  to  the  breakfast  table 
with  a  scowl  on  his  face.  After  breakfast  he  went  out 
to  feed  his  pet  rabbits,  but  before  he  had  time  to  get  the 
feed,  he  heard  his  mother  calling  him  to  come  in  and 
help  her  with  the  dishwashing.  This  annoyed  him 
greatly  and  he  shouted  back  in  a  very  rude  way  saying : 
“Aw,  mother,  I’m  no  girl.  I  am  busy  and  I  don’t  want 
to  wash  the  dishes..  I’ll  be  late  for  school.”  He  finally 
did  wash  the  dishes,  but  he  had  a  scowl  on  his  face  all 
the  time  he  was  doing  it.  Then  he  dashed  off  to  school, 
slamming  the  door  and  without  kissing  his  mother  or 
bidding  her  good-by. 

At  recess  he  was  playing  in  the  school  yard  with  some 
of  the  other  boys,  when  all  at  once  they  saw  a  peculiar 
cloud  shaped  like  a  long  funnel,  reaching  from  the  black 
clouds  of  the  sky  right  down  to  the  earth.  As  they 
looked  they  saw  dust  rolling  up  where  the  cloud  touched 
the  earth  and  they  began  to  hear  a  low,  sullen  roar  which 
seemed  to  fill  all  the  air.  The  teacher  came  running  out 
of  the  schoolhouse  and  cried  to  the  children  to  run  to 
the  cyclone  cellar  which,  was  near  the  school  building. 
These  cellars  are  built  for  the  protection  of  the  people 
in  sections  of  the  country  where  these  dreadful  cyclones, 
or  tornadoes,  occur.  Inside  of  the  cellar  the  children 
and  their  teacher  heard  a  great  roaring  crash  as  the 
storm  struck  the  schoolhouse  and  demolished  it.  After 
the  wind  had  passed  there  were  torrents  of  rain  and 
great  hailstones  came  pelting  down  until  there  were 
heaps  of  ice  in  the  roads  and  ditches. 

When  the  storm  grew  a  little  less  terrific,  the  children 
slipped  out  of  the  cellar  and  ran  for  their  homes.  Elbert 
ran  along  the  road  as  fast  as  he  could,  but  it  was  so  full 
of  splintered  boards  and  branches  of  trees  that  he  could 
make  but  slow  progress.  He  wondered  whether  he 
should  ever  See  his  mother  again.  Had  the  tornado 
struck  their  house  and  destroyed  it  as  it  demolished  the 


246  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


schoolhouse?  He  remembered  now  that  he  had  been 
very  cross  that  morning  and  had  left  the  house  without 
kissing  his  mother  and  bidding  her  good-by.  As  he 
struggled  along  the  road  he  saw  some  one  coming 
through  the  storm  to  meet  him.  A  little  later  he  saw 
that  it  was  his  mother  and  he  was  soon  in  her  arms. 

That  night  as  Elbert  knelt  by  his  bed,  he  offered  this 
little  prayer.  “O  Father,  forgive  me  for  being  so  mean 
and  hateful  this  morning.  Thou  hast  given  me  so  many 
things  to  make  me  happy.  Help  me  to  bring  joy  and 
happiness  to  everything  and  everybody  in  thy  beautiful 
world.”  Adapted  from  “Stories  for  Worship  and  How 
to  Follow  Them  Up,”  by  Hugh  Hartshorne. 

Th^  Lesson  Prayer 

Help  us,  our  Father  in  heaven,  to  appreciate  the  bless¬ 
ings  which  we  enjoy.  Forgive  us  if  we  have  been  peevish 
and  rude  toward  those  we  love.  Give  us  more  perfect 
self-mastery  so  that  we  may  overcome  irritation  and 
petty  annoyances  and  inconveniences.  Teach  us  how 
to  appreciate  all  that  is  done  for  us  by  our  parents, 
teachers,  and  friends,  and  grant  that  we  may  show  this 
appreciation  by  being  truly  and  courteously  thankful. 
We  ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“Abide  with  Me:  Fast  Falls  the  Eventide.”  “Studies 
of  Familiar  Hymns,”  page  169. 

EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

FLOWERS  FOR  OUR  LOVED  ONES  WHILE  THEY 

LIVE 

Psalm  42;  I  Peter  1 :5-ll ;  Matt.  26:6-13 

Nicodemus  and  Joseph  of  Arimathsea  did  not  aprpre- 
ciate  Jesus  and  his  teachings  until  after  he  was  no  longer 
with  them.  This  is  a  very  common  failing.  We  are  very 
apt  to  have  an  inadequate  appreciation  of  our  friends 
and  our  relatives  while  we  are  with  them.  When  we  are 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  247 


separated  from  them,  we  see  their  value  and  their  virtues 
as  we  have  not  seen  them  before.  And  so  we  are  apt 
to  lose  the  opportunities  we  have  for  showing  our  appre¬ 
ciation.  We  keep  our  flowers  until  our  loved  ones  have 
gone  from  us  and  then  we  try  to  make  amends  for  our 
neglect  by  floral  offerings  and  words  of  appreciation 
which  might  have  brightened  the  pathway  of  those  we 
loved,  but  to  whom  we  failed  to  give  adequate  expres¬ 
sions  of  affection  and  appreciation  while  they  lived.  The 
Christian  religion  ought  to  overcome  this  defect  of  char¬ 
acter.  It  ought  to  make  us  more  appreciative  and  more 
thoughtful  in  expressing  our  appreciation. 

This  failure  to  appreciate  our  blessings  is  not  confined 
to  our  relationships  with  our  friends  and  relatives.  It  is 
the  same  with  our  attitude  toward  the  Church.  If  we 
have  the  opportunity  to  go  to  church  every  Sunday  or 
oftener,  we  are  apt  to  feel  as  though  going  to  church  is 
a  burdensome  duty;  but  if  we  were  in  a  land  where 
there  were  no  churches,  we  would  almost  certainly  come 
to  long  for  the  services  of  praise  and  worship  which 
have  become  so  commonplace  to  some  of  us.  The  Forty- 
second  Psalm  seems  to  have  been  written  by  a  person 
who  had  been  taken  captive  by  a  foreign  army  and  who 
was  being  carried  away  from  the  land  of  Palestine  into 
hopeless  bondage.  The  writer  may  have  been  a  priest 
or  a  Levite  for  he  speaks  of  having  led  the  people  in  the 
Temple  services: 

“These  things  I  remember,  and  pour  out  my  soul  within  me, 

How  I  went  with  the  throng,  and  led  them  to  the  house  of  God, 
With  the  voice  of  joy  and  praise,  a  multitude  keeping  holyday.” 

When  Mary  broke  her  alabaster  cruse  of  precious  oint¬ 
ment  and  anointed  the  head  of  Jesus,  she  was  showing 
her  appreciation  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  She  did 
not  wait  until  Jesus  had  been  crucified,  as  Nicodemus 
and  Joseph  of  Arimathaea  did,  before  she  expressed  her 
appreciation  of  him. 

Some  Truths  from  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

Prejudice  and  jealousy  are  deadly  foes  of  appreciation. 
These  unlovely  qualities  of  character  kept  many  of  the 


248  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Jewish  leaders  from  appreciating  the  character  and  the 
teachings  of  Jesus. 

The  attempt  to  live  as  a  secret  disciple  of  Jesus  makes 
it  impossible  for  the  believer  in  Christ  to  give  adequate 
expression  to  his  appreciation  of  his  Master, 

The  attempt  to  live  as  a  secret  disciple  of  Jesus  is 
usually  abandoned  after  a  little  while.  Either  the  per¬ 
son  making  the  attempt  gives  up  and  ceases  to  believe  in 
Jesus,  or  he  comes  out  in  an  open  confession  as  Joseph 
and  Nicodemus  did. 

One  of  the  worst  things  about  secret  discipleship  is 
the  fact  that  it  wastes  the  precious  opportunities  which 
come  for  bearing  witness  for  Jesus  Christ. 

Secret  discipleship  is  usually  due  to  cowardice,  and  no 
one  who  is  a  coward  can  be  a  strong  Christian. 

Secret  disciples  will  never  do  much  toward  the  setting 
up  of  God’s  Kingdom  in  the  world. 

The  trial  and  crucifixion  of  Jesus  caused  Joseph  of 
Arimathaea  to  come  out  boldly  as  a  disciple  of  Jesus. 
The  secret  disciple  of  our  times  needs  to  get  a  clearer 
view  of  the  meaning  of  the  sacrifice  made  on  Calvary. 

Re:vij:w  Questions 

1.  Tell  of  the  various  opinions  which  different  per¬ 
sons  expressed  concerning  Jesus. 

2.  Why  was  Nicodemus  impressed  more  by  the 
miracles  of  Jesus  than  he  was  by  the  teachings  of  Jesus? 

3.  Why  is  it  hard  to  be  a  secret  disciple? 

4.  What  did  Nicodemus  lose  by  trying  to  be  a  secret 
disciple? 

5.  When  Tom  Brown  went  to  the  boarding  school, 
he  manifested  moral  cowardice.  That  he  was  not  afflicted 
with  physical  cowardice  is  shown  by  his  defiance  of  the 
bully  who  had  thrown  a  shoe  at  Arthur.  Which  is 
harder  to  maintain,  moral  courage  or  physical  courage? 

6.  What  kind  of  man  was  Joseph  of  Arimathaea? 

7.  Why  do  you  think  he  tried  to  be  a  secret  disciple? 
In  what  sense  did  he  fear  the  Jews? 

8.  What  caused  Joseph  of  Arimathaea  to  come  out 
boldly  as  a  believer  in  Jesus. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  249 


9.  Is  it  possible  for  a  boy  or  girl  to  be  a  secret  fol¬ 
lower  of  Jesus  to-day? 

10.  Tell  how  a  storm  helped  a  boy  to  appreciate  his 
mother. 

Bibl:^  Vj:rsi$s 

Prov.  19:22;  31:26;  Matt.  10:42;  25:34-40;  John  1:11; 
Rom.  12:9,  10;  I  Cor.  13:4-8;  Eph.  4:32;  Col.  3:12-17; 
III  John  5-8. 

Study  Topics 

1.  How  Jacob  Learned  to  Appreciate  His  Home  and 
His  Relatives.  Gen.  28:10-22. 

2.  Great  Leaders  Who  Have  Not  Been  Appreciated 
in  Their  Day.  I.  Moses.  Num.  14:1-4. 

3.  Great  Leaders  Who  Have  Not  Been  Appreciated 
in  Their  Day.  H.  Jeremiah.  Jer.  37:11-21. 

4.  Great  Leaders  Who  Have  Not  Been  Appreciated 
in  Their  Day.  HI.  Paul.  Acts  22:22-24. 

5.  How  Jesus  Sought  to  Teach  His  Disciples  Appre¬ 
ciation  of  Their  Opportunities.  Matt.  13:17. 

6.  Ways  in  Which  We  Can  Show  that  We  Appre¬ 
ciate  Our  Relatives  and  Friends. 

7.  Ways  in  Which  We  Can  Show  that  We  Appre-  ' 
ciate  the  Church. 

8.  Ways  in  Which  We  Can  Show  Our  Appreciation 
of  What  Jesus  Has  Done  for  Us. 

9.  Lack  of  Appreciation  a  Serious  Defect  of  Char¬ 
acter. 

10.  Why  Secret  Discipleship  Is  Not  Becoming  to  a 
Christian. 

Putting  thk  Truths  op  thp  Lesson  Into  Practice 

Plan  for  the  sending  of  birthday  cards  to  relatives  and 
friends.  Choose  cards  that  express  appreciation,  or 
write  them  with  this  end  in  view.  Have  the  class  take 
up  some  task  for  the  church,  as  an  expression  of  its 
appreciation  of  what  the  church  has  done  in  organizing 
and  maintaining  a  church  school.  Give  an  opportunity 
to  pupils  to  become  professed  followers  of  Christ,  if  all 
have  not  already  done  so. 


CHAPTER  XX 


THE  FELLOWSHIP  OF  BELIEVERS  IN  THE 

EARLY  CHURCH 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

RACIAL  AND  SOCIAL  DISTINCTIONS  OBLITERATED 
Acts  8:14-17;  26-40;  Philemon  15,  16 

We  have  now  studied  the  New  Testament  narratives 
concerning  all  the  more  prominent  early  followers  of 
Jesus.  The  study  of  these  individuals  has  given  us  some 
interesting  facts  concerning  the  whole  body  of  Christian 
believers  in  the  Early  Church.  There  are  likewise  cer¬ 
tain  other  statements  made  concerning  the  early  Chris¬ 
tians  which  we  ought  to  study  and  which  have  not  been 
considered  in  our  previous  lessons.  The  two  closing 
chapters  of  this  book  will  therefore  be  concerned  with 
a  study  of  the  whole  group  of  Christian  believers  of  the 
Early  Church  rather  than  with  individuals  belonging  to 
that  group. 

The  Religion  of  Jesus  Meets  and  Conquers  Race  Prej¬ 
udice.  Acts  8:14-17;  ch.  10.  The  race  prejudice  which 
existed  between  Jews  and  Samaritans  in  the  first  century 
was  extremely  bitter.  It  had  been  growing  for  hun¬ 
dreds  of  years.  It  had  been  fanned  at  times  into  the 
flames  of  war.  The  Jews  at  one  time  attacked  Samaria 
and  burned  the  temple  on  Mount  Gerizim  which  they 
looked  upon  as  a  rival  of  the  Temple  in  Jerusalem.  Jesus 
came  face  to  face  with  this  ancient  and  deeply-entrenched 
prejudice  in  the  days  of  his  ministry.  He  would  have 
none  of  it.  He  made  no  concessions  whatever  to  it. 
On  the  other  hand  he  combated  it.  One  day  Jesus  and 
his  disciples  were  leaving  Judea  for  Galilee.  The  apostles 
were  evidently  not  yet  aware  of  their  Master’s  attitude 
toward  Samaritans,  for  it  was  early  in  the  ministry  of 
Jesus.  They  proposed  to  go  by  the  usual  route  pursued 
by  the  Galilaean  Jews  in  their  journeys  to  and  from 

250 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  251 


Jerusalem,  that  is,  they  planned  to  go  from  Jerusalem 
down  into  the  Jordan  Valley,  thence  along  the  eastern 
bank  of  that  river  to  its  point  of  departure  from  the  Sea 
of  Galilee,  thence  up  the  hills  to  the  region  of  Cana  and 
Nazareth.  They  were  accustomed  to  make  this  long 
detour  rather  than  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  the  despised 
Samaritans.  Jesus  would  make  no  such  concession.  We 
are  told  that  “he  must  needs  pass  through  Samaria.” 
That  is  he  insisted  on  going  direct  from  Judea  to  Galilee 
through  the  land  of  Samaria. 

On  this  journey  Jesus  showed  a  friendly  spirit  toward 
the  Samaritans  by  talking  with  a  Samaritan  woman  by 
the  well  of  Sychar.  Later,  he  spent  some  days  in  a 
Samaritan  village,  preaching  and  teaching.  In  one  of  his 
greatest  parables  he  made  the  hero  of  the  tale  a  Samar¬ 
itan.  He  healed  one  day  a  group  of  lepers  and  there 
was  a  Samaritan  among  them.  Jesus  made  no  distinction, 
but  healed  the  Samaritan  with  the  others. 

So  we  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  after  the  resur¬ 
rection  of  Jesus  the  disciples  went  into  Samaria  and 
preached  the  gospel.  The  ancient  prejudice  was  crum¬ 
bling.  In  a  little  while  not  only  the  Samaritans  who 
were  partly  of  Jewish  ancestry  but  all  Gentiles  were 
being  admitted  freely  to  the  Christian  brotherhood. 

When  the  Ethiopian  was  converted  and  baptized, 
Christianity  met  and  conquered  that  persistent  prejudice 
which  springs  up  between  people  who  are  of  different 
color.  The  Ethiopian  was  a  Negro,  but  in  his  zeal  for 
Christ,  Philip  climbed  up  into  the  chariot  and  talked 
with  him  and  afterward  baptized  him  as  a  member  of 
the  universal  brotherhood  in  Christ. 

The  Religion  of  Jesus  Conquers  Social  Prejudice.  The 
prejudice  of  the  Jews  against  those  of  their  nation  who 
had  become  taxgatherers  for  the  Romans  was  very 
strong.  The  publicans  were  social  outcasts.  Jesus  would 
make  no  concessions  to  this  prejudice,  just  as  he  would 
not  yield  to  the  prejudice  against  the  Samaritans.  He 
went  into  publicans’  houses  and  ate  with  them.  He 
chose  one  to  be  a  disciple.  This  is  why  we  find  the  doors 
of  the  Christian  Church  of  the  first  century  open  to  all. 

Masters  and  Slaves  Made  Brothers.  Philemon  15,  16. 
In  the  story  of  Onesimus  we  saw  how  the  Christian 


252  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


religion  caused  a  runaway  slave  who  had  stolen  his 
master’s  money  to  return  to  his  former  place  as  a  slave= 
But  Paul  well  knew  that  the  old  conditions  of  slavery 
could  not  exist  between  a  Christian  master  and  his  Chris¬ 
tian  slave,  so  he  confidently  sent  Onesimus  back  to 
Philemon  with  the  suggestion  that  they  were  now  broth¬ 
ers  in  Christ.  It  is  the  spirit  of  brotherhood  in  Christ 
which,  more  than  anything  else,  has  banished  slavery 
from  the  world. 

Rich  and  Poor  Meet  Together.  Acts  2:44,  45.  Some 
of  the  people  who  became  Christians  in  the  first  days 
of  the  Church  were  very  poor.  Many  did  not  own  even 
themselves,  for  they  were  slaves.  Some  of  the  people 
had  considerable  property,  and  a  few  were  wealthy. 
These  dififerences  as  to  worldly  possessions  did  not  cause 
any  distinction  among  the  first  century  Christians.  They 
were  all  together.  Those  who  had  property  sold  a  part, 
or  all  of  it,  and  put  the  proceeds  into  a  common  fund  to 
be  used  by  any  member  of  the  Church  who  might  be  in 
need.  When  these  people  of  wealth  came  with  their 
offerings  for  the  common  good  and  knelt  to  worship  the 
universal  Father  with  those  who  had  been  beggars  and 
slaves  and  despised  publicans,  it  was  a  scene  which  the 
world  had  not  witnessed  before. 

The  Wise  and  the  Simple  Help  One  Another.  There 
were  educated  men  who  came  flocking  into  the  Early 
Church,  a  multitude  of  priests  who  had  been  educated 
in  the  lore  of  the  Old  Testament  and  who  had  been  cold 
and  proud  in  their  haughty  isolation  from  the  rest  of 
humanity.  There  were  men  like  Apollos  and  Paul  who 
had  been  trained  in  the  greatest  schools  of  the  day  and 
who  learned  in  Jesus  how  to  use  their  learning  for  the 
service  of  their  fellow  men.  There  were  multitudes  who 
had  no  education  at  all,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that 
term.  They  could  neither  read  nor  write,  but  they  had 
heard  the  story  of  Jesus  and  their  hearts  had  responded 
to  him  who  is  the  Saviour  of  all  mankind.  How  helpful 
the  fellowship  of  men  like  Apollos  must  have  been  to 
these  less  fortunate  brethren !  And  yet  the  helpfulness 
was  not  all  on  one  side.  The  person  of  great  learning 
who  loses  touch  with  his  fellow  men  is  very  unfortunate. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  253 


The  fellowship  of  unlearned  peasants  was  therefore 
helpful  to  men  like  Paul  and  Apollos. 

AivF  PeopIvI:  oe  Equae  Vaeue  in  the  Sight  oe  God 

When  we  say  that  all  people  are  equal  in  the  sight  of 
God,  we  do  not  mean  that  all  are  equal  in  their  ability  or 
in  their  possessions.  We  mean  that  all  are  equally  valu¬ 
able  to  God  who  is  the  Father  of  all.  We  mean  that 
God  loves  them  equally. 

His  love  for  each  child  of  his  is  so  great  that  it  cannot 
be  measured,  so  great  that  it  is  infinite  and  all  infinite 
things  are  equal. 

One  day  President  McKinley  was  on  a  journey  and 
happened  to  be  in  a  small  village  for  a  part  of  a  Sunday. 
He  went  to  a  little  Methodist  church  of  the  village  for 
the  morning  service.  It  happened  to  be  Communion 
Sunday.  When  the  invitation  was  given  to  come  for¬ 
ward  to  the  altar  to  partake  of  the  Communion,  Presi¬ 
dent  McKinley  came  forward  with  the  others.  Seeing 
a  vacant  place  beside  an  old  colored  man  who  was  kneel¬ 
ing  at  the  altar  rail,  the  President  knelt  there.  When 
the  Negro  saw  the  President  kneeling  beside  him,  he 
started  to  move  to  another  part  of  the  altar  rail,  but  the 
President  detained  him.  Placing  his  hand  kindly  on  the 
shoulder  of  the  colored  man,  he  said,  “Don’t  go  away, 
brother,  we  are  all  equal  here.”  It  was  this  sense  of  uni¬ 
versal  brotherhood  that  the  early  Christians  had  caught 
that  made  of  them  one  great  family  under  the  fatherhood 
of  God. 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

FELLOWSHIP  IN  WORSHIP  AND  IN  LABOR 
Acts  2:42,  43,  46,  47;  13:1-3 

As  we  read  the  early  chapters  of  The  Acts,  we  are 
impressed  by  the  power  which  the  Early  Church  mani¬ 
fested.  Jesus  had  told  his  disciples  to  tarry  in  Jerusalem 
until  they  had  received  power  from  on  high,  and  this 
power  had  come  to  them  in  harmony  with  their  Lord’s 
promise  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost.  Yet  the  power  of  the 


254  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Church  had  a  direct  relationship  to  the  spirit  of  unity 
which  has  been  studied  in  the  preceding  lesson.  The 
believers  of  Jesus  were  of  one  accord.  They  possessed 
that  unity  for  which  Jesus  had  prayed  when  he  asked 
that  his  followers  might  be  one,  as  he  and  the  Father 
were  one,  that  the  world  might  believe  that  the  Father 
had  sent  him.  They  possessed  power  because  they  were 
not  divided  by  social  and  racial  prejudices,  but  had  the 
spirit  of  a  universal  brotherhood.  They  were  not  yet 
divided  into  factions  over  unimportant  matters  of  doc¬ 
trine,  but  “continued  stedfastly  in  the  apostles'  teaching 
and  fellowship." 

Services  of  Praise  and  Prayer.  Acts  2 :42,  46,  47.  The 
Christians  at  first  held  their  meetings  in  the  Temple. 
They  had  been  accustomed  to  worship  there  before  be¬ 
coming  Christians  and  simply  continued  to  gather  at  the 
accustomed  place.  Their  meetings  in  the  Temple  were 
probably  held  in  some  one  of  the  Temple  courts  where 
they  prayed,  sang  psalms,  and  talked  over  the  great 
truths  of  the  Christian  faith.  But  the  services  of  wor¬ 
ship  were  not  confined  to  these  Temple  gatherings.  Be¬ 
sides  the  daily  meetings  in  the  Temple,  there  were  meet¬ 
ing  in  the  homes.  In  these  home  prayer  meetings  they 
partook  of  the  Ford’s  Supper,  thus  keeping  constantly 
before  their  minds  the  great  fundamental  doctrines  of  the 
Christian  religion.  The  communion  of  the  Ford’s  Sup¬ 
per  is  a  picture  of  the  unity  of  believers  and  of  their 
dependence  upon  Christ  for  spiritual  nourishment. 

A  Period  of  Joyous  and  Rapid  Growth.  Acts  2:46, 
47.  During  the  little  while  which  elapsed  between  the 
Day  of  Pentecost  and  the  outbreak  of  the  first  persecu¬ 
tion,  the  Church  made  wonderful  progress.  The  Chris¬ 
tians  were  such  a  joyous  band  and  they  were  so  broad 
in  their  friendships  that  they  had  “favor  with  all  the 
people.’’  Every  day  there  were  additions  to  the  Church. 
We  have  in  this  account  of  the  early  Christian  Church 
a  picture  of  what  the  Church  ought  to  be  at  all  times,  a 
picture  of  what  God  intended  that  the  Church  should  be, 
and  a  picture  of  what  the  Church  might  be  if  there  was 
the  kind  of  fellowship  and  devotion  which  Jesus  wishes 
his  followers  to  have. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  255 


Organizing  the  Missionary  Enterprise.  Acts  13:1-3. 
The  early  Christians  did  not  spend  all  their  time  in  hold¬ 
ing  meetings  for  prayer  and  praise.  They  had  received 
the  sublime  commission  to  make  disciples  of  all  nations 
and  they  were  soon  organizing  for  that  great  undertak¬ 
ing.  It  has  been  true  through  all  the  history  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  that  any  church  which  becomes  self-centered  and 
loses  its  zeal  for  winning  all  the  world  for  Christ  soon 
loses  its  own  spiritual  life.  The  first  Christians  were 
not  content  to  have  a  happy  time  together,  singing  praises 
and  uniting  in  prayers  and  breaking  bread  at  home, 
while  they  forgot  about  the  world-wide  field  for  service 
to  which  their  Master  had  pointed  them.  We  find  the 
church  at  Jerusalem  sending  Peter  and  John  into  Sama¬ 
ria.  Later  the  church  at  Antioch,  having  grown  great  in 
numbers,  set  apart  two  of  its  members  to  launch  out  in 
a  mission  enterprise  more  ambitious  than  had  yet  been 
attempted.  There  is  a  fellowship  in  worship  and  there  is 
a  fellowship  in  Christian  labor.  Both  are  needed  for  an 
efficient  Christian  church  organization. 

Organizing  the  Philanthropic  Activities  of  the  Church. 
Acts  11 :27-30.  It  is  the  task  of  the  Christian  Church  to 
minister  not  only  to  the  spiritual  needs  of  men  but  to 
render  physical  comfort  and  succor  in  times  of  need. 
Indeed,  there  can  be  no  sharp  distinction  between  these 
two  types  of  service.  It  often  happens  that  in  render¬ 
ing  physical  service,  the  Church  finds  that  it  has  rendered 
the  truest  kind  of  spiritual  service.  In  this  respect  the 
Church  is  most  efficient  when  it  walks  in  the  footsteps 
of  its  Master  who  ministered  to  both  the  bodies  and  the 
souls  of  men. 

The  early  Christians  saw  this  truth.  When  a  great 
famine  threatened  they  began  to  organize  their  work  of 
relief.  Paul  and  Barnabas  had  been  successful  in  the 
task  to  which  they  had  been  assigned  by  their  brethren 
of  the  home  church.  They  had  preached  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  in  hundreds  of  places  where  it  had  not  been  heard 
before,  but  they  did  not  feel  it  a  task  unworthy  of  them 
when  the  members  of  the  Antioch  church  sent  them  to 
Jerusalem  with  offerings  for  the  poor  of  that  city. 

The  Teaching  Task  of  the  Church.  Eph.  4:11-16. 


256  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOELOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Many  of  those  who  came  into  the  Christian  Church  in 
the  days  of  its  beginning  were,  as  we  have  seen,  people 
of  little  education.  The  leaders  of  the  Church  of  that 
day  did  not  make  the  mistake  which  some  modern 
churches  have  made  in  seeking  for  numbers,  as  though 
that  were  the  chief  thing  to  be  desired.  Those  who 
sought  admission  to  the  Church  were  carefully  taught 
before  they  were  given  the  full  privileges  of  membership. 
This  became  especially  necessary  after  the  Gentiles  be¬ 
gan  to  come  into  the  Church  in  large  numbers.  Many 
of  these  people  had  lived  all  their  lives  in  pagan  darkness. 
Pagan  habits  had  become  a  part  of  their  lives.  They 
needed  to  be  taught  diligently  the  new  way  of  life  in 
Jesus  Christ.  There  came  to  be,  therefore,  a  class  of 
people  in  the  Church  who  were  called  catechists.  These 
catechists  were  teachers  who  took  the  catechumens,  or 
candidates  for  baptism,  and  taught  them  the  essentials 
of  the  Christian  faith. 

Christianity  and  Childhood 

The  religion  of  Jesus  has  brought  about  a  great  change 
in  the  attitude  of  adults  toward  children  in  all  lands 
where  it  has  really  taken  hold  of  the  lives  of  the  people. 
This  change  began  to  be  manifest  from  the  very  first 
days  of  the  Christian  Church.  It  was  a  time  when  under 
the  Roman  law  parents  could  take  a  child  out  to  some 
deserted  spot  and  leave  it  to  starve,  if  they  did  not  care 
to  take  the  trouble  to  raise  it.  Into  a  world  where  such 
things  were  permitted  by  law,  Jesus  came  saying,  ‘‘See 
that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones :  for  I  say  unto 
you,  that  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always  behold  the 
face  of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.’’ 

Nero  had  a  little  stepson,  the  child  of  his  wife  Pop- 
psea.  One  night  this  little  fellow,  who  was  three  or  four 
years  of  age,  came  romping  into  the  banquet  hall,  where 
Nero  sat  with  some  of  his  state  officials.  Nero  was  in  a 
drunken  rage  and  had  quarreled  with  Poppaea.  Seeing 
the  child  angered  him  all  the  more.  He  seized  a  crystal 
goblet  from  off  the  table  and  hurled  it  at  the  little  boy, 
saying:  “We  have  had  enough  of  this  by-breed.  Away 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  257 


with  him !”  The  child  was  knocked  senseless  by  the 
blow.  That  night  Nero  sent  his  servants  to  take  the 
life  of  the  little  son  of  his  wife  as  he  lay  in  bed  still 
unconscious  from  the  cruel  blow. 

There  were  a  good  many  people  in  Rome  who  did  not 
recoil  in  horror  from  the  cruel  act  of  Nero.  They  had 
become  used  to  such  things  and  had  not  seen  childhood 
in  the  light  of  him  who  said,  “Suffer  the  little  children 
to  come  unto  me.”  If  we  wish  to  know  how  the  Chris¬ 
tians  of  that  day  loved  their  children,  we  can  learn 
something  from  going  down  into  the  catacombs,  which 
are  vast  chambers  underneath  the  city  of  Rome,  where 
the  Christians  hid  from  Nero  and  his  officers  in  the  days 
of  persecution. 

On  the  walls  of  the  catacombs  is  a  rude  drawing,  a 
shepherd  with  a  lamb  in  his  arms.  Beneath  is  written 
in  rude  characters  the  words :  “Portia,  age  ten.  Precious 
lamb,  she  will  awake  when  the  good  shepherd  comes.” 

The  Lesson  Prayer 

Make  us  conscious,  our  Father  in  heaven,  of  the  debt 
which  we  owe  to  the  Church  of  thy  Son.  Help  us  to  re¬ 
alize  something  of  what  it  has  accomplished  in  the  world. 
Give  us  that  spirit  of  sympathy  and  brotherliness  which 
was  manifest  among  thy  people  in  the  early  years  of  the 
Church.  Take  out  of  our  hearts  anything  of  ill  will  or 
prejudice  which  keeps  us  from  the  largest  service  and 
the  fullest  devotion  to  thy  cause.  Help  us  to  be  kind 
to  those  who  are  poor,  to  those  who  are  of  a  different 
race  from  ourselves,  and  to  people  of  other  nations.  We 
ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Amen. 

The  Lesson  Hymn 

“Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee.” 

Hymns,”  page  117. 


“Studies  of  Familiar 


258  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

THE  CHRISTIAN  FAMILY  AS  A  TYPE  OF  CHRIST’S 

KINGDOM 

Eph.  3  :14  to  4 :16 

As  we  have  studied  the  accounts  concerning  the  early 
Christians,  we  have  seen  how  much  like  a  family  they 
were.  They  met  together  often  and  partook  of  the  com¬ 
munion  of  the  Lord’s  Supper  around  a  common  table, 
like  one  large  family.  They  had  the  spirit  of  a  Chris¬ 
tian  family,  for  there  was  a  deep  sense  of  brotherhood. 
As  the  smallest  and  weakest  member  of  a  Christian 
family  receives  the  most  thoughtful  care,  so  in  the 
Church  established  by  the  apostles  there  was  loving 
care  for  children,  for  the  aged,  and  for  those  who  were 
sick.  Just  as  a  family  has  a  common  fund  out  of  which 
the  members  of  the  household  receive  that  which  they 
need,  so  the  early  Christians  formed  a  common  treasury 
from  which  the  needs  of  all  were  to  be  supplied. 

The  extension  of  the  spirit  of  the  Christian  family  so 
as  to  include  all  the  peoples  of  the  earth  is  the  goal  of  the 
Christian  religion.  When  the  day  comes  that  all  man¬ 
kind  are  bound  together  in  the  spirit  of  love  and  fellow¬ 
ship  and  service  which  is  found  in  a  truly  Christian 
home,  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  will  be  well  established 
in  the  world.  Let  us  see  what  it  would  mean  to  have 
this  spirit  of  the  Christian  family  widened  to  include 
all  races  and  nations  and  kindreds  and  tongues.  It  would 
mean  for  one  thing  the  end  of  race  prejudice  and  all  that 
has  grown  out  of  that  unlovely  trait.  In  the  Christian 
home  the  big  brother  does  not  despise  his  little  sister 
because  she  happened  to  be  born  with  a  darker  shade 
of  skin  than  he  himself  possesses.  It  would  mean  the 
end  of  social  prejudices  and  the  disastrous  results  which 
have  come  from  the  divisions  with  which  it  has  afflicted 
humanity.  In  a  Christian  family  the  elder  brother  who 
is  in  college  does  not  despise  his  little  brother  who  is 
learning  to  read  a  few  words  in  the  primer.  In  a  Chris¬ 
tian  home  if  one  member  has  gained  wealth  enough  to 
own  an  automobile,  he  shares  it  with  the  other  members 
of  the  household  and  does  not  think  himself  superior  to 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  259 


his  relatives  who  are  not  so  prosperous.  As  the  interest 
of  a  Christian  home  centers  around  the  helpless  baby, 
and  as  the  baby  receives  first  consideration  and  the  most 
devoted  care,  so  in  the  Kingdom  of  Jesus,  little  children 
will  have  first  place  in  the  plans  and  labors  of  humanity. 
Childlike  races  will  not  be  exploited  by  stronger  peoples, 
because  they  are  the  children  in  the  family  of  God. 

The  extension  of  the  family  spirit  to  all  mankind 
would  mean  the  end  of  wars,  and  the  end  of  labor  diffi¬ 
culties  which  express  themselves  in  strikes  and  lockouts. 
It  would  mean  the  destruction  of  the  slums  of  our  great 
cities.  It  would  mean,  in  fact,  the  establishment  of  that 
brotherhood  of  man  which  has  been  foreseen  and  longed 
for  by  the  great-souled  people  of  the  earth  through  many 
centuries. 

The  program  of  Jesus  aims  at  nothing  less  than  the 
establishment  of  the  family  spirit  of  love  and  service 
throughout  the  earth ;  and  there  is  power  in  the  religion 
of  Jesus  to  accomplish  the  task.  During  the  first  few 
years  of  the  Christian  Church,  giant  strides  were  made 
in  the  direction  of  this  goal.  The  Church  later  lost 
sight  of  it  for  a  time,  and  to  a  certain  extent,  but  in  our 
day  we  are  coming  once  more  to  understand  what  we  are 
praying  for  when  we  say :  “Thy  kingdom  come.  Thy 
will  be  done  on  earth.” 

Some:  Truths  trom  the:  Le:ssons  We:  Have:  Be:e:n 

Studying 

The  sympathies  of  Jesus  were  too  vast  and  deep  for 
him  to  yield,  even  a  little,  to  the  prejudices  so  prominent 
in  the  times  when  he  lived  on  earth.  Sympathy  is  the 
remedy  for  selfishness  and  prejudice. 

The  prejudices  of  the  Jews  injured  both  themselves 
and  those  whom  they  despised.  Publicans  like  Matthew 
and  Zacchseus  were  well  worth  saving,  but  they  could 
be  saved  only  through  the  way  in  which  Jesus  dealt  with 
them. 

The  first  Christians  had  found  a  new  righteousness  in 
Jesus,  and  this  brought  about  a  new  sense  of  brother¬ 
hood.  There  is  no  brotherhood  without  righteousness. 

The  deep  sense  of  brotherhood  manifested  by  the  first 


260  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


Christians  was  an  evidence  that  their  religion  was  gen¬ 
uine.  There  is  no  righteousness  without  brotherhood. 

Re:vie:w  Que:stions 

1.  Give  incidents  in  the  life  of  Jesus  which  show 
that  he  was  free  from  prejudice. 

2.  Show  that  the  early  Christians  overcame  race 
prejudice  and  social  prejudice. 

3.  What  effect  did  Christianity  have  on  slavery? 

4.  Why  did  the  early  Christians  sell  their  property 
and  put  the  money  in  a  common  fund? 

5.  What  lesson  do  you  learn  from  the  story  about 
President  McKinley? 

6.  In  what  ways  were  the  early  Christians  like  a  family  ? 

7.  Why  do  you  think  the  Early  Church  grew  so 
rapidly? 

8.  Name  some  early  philanthropic  undertakings  of 
the  Church. 

9.  Tell  what  you  can  of  teaching  in  the  Early  Church. 

10.  What  effect  has  Christianity  had  on  the  condition 
of  children? 

Bibi,^  VkrsES 

Ps.  72:1-8;  Isa.  11:1-9;  Micah.  4:1-4;  Mark  10:42-45; 
Rom.  12:9,  10;  I  Cor.  15:25;  Gal.  6:2;  Heb.  13:1-3; 
I  Peter  2:17;  I  John  3:17;  Rev.  12:10-12. 

Study  Topics 

1.  How  Paul  Manifested  the  Spirit  of  the  Christian 
Family  Toward  Other  Members  of  the  Church.  Rom. 
16:1,  13,  21 ;  I  Tim.  1 :1,  2. 

2.  Manifestations  of  a  Christian  Family  Spirit  in  the 
Epistles  of  Peter.  (Have  pupil  read  the  epistles  and 
report  on  such  expressions  as  ‘‘brethren,”  “brotherhood,” 
“beloved,”  et  cetera.) 

3.  Manifestations  of  a  Christian  Family  Spirit  in  the 
Epistles  of  John. 

4.  Teachings  of  Jesus  Which  Hold  Up  the  Christian 
Family  Spirit  as  an  Ideal  for  Human  Relationships. 
Matt.  5:40-42;  7:1-5;  14:13-21. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS  261 


5.  How  We  Can  Carry  the  Spirit  of  the  Christian 
Family  into  Our  School  Life.  (What  should  be  the 
attitude  of  eighth-grade  children  to  the  little  people  of 
the  first  grade?  Et  cetera.) 

6.  How  We  Can  Carry  the  Spirit  of  the  Christian 
Family  into  Our  Church  School.  The  teacher  should 
read  about  “Sunday-School  Mammas”  in  a  book  called 
“Special  Days  in  the  Sunday  School,”  by  Marion  Law- 
rance,  page  32.  (After  reading  the  paragraph  indicated, 
the  teacher  will  be  able  to  help  the  pupil  to  whom  this 
topic  is  assigned ;  or,  the  book  with  the  passage  may  be 
given  to  the  pupil.) 

7.  How  Far  Can  the  Spirit  of  the  Christian  Home 
Be  Carried  into  the  Business  World?  (For  the  pastor  or 
some  adult  person  who  is  interested  in  the  Christianiza¬ 
tion  of  all  business  relations.) 

8.  Manifestations  of  a  Christian  Family  Spirit  Among 
the  Christians  of  the  First  Century.  (See  accounts  of 
collections  for  poor  during  famine,  et  cetera.) 

9.  Flow  the  Christian  Home  Differs  from  the  Non- 
christian  Home. 

10.  A  Picture  of  a  Humble  Christian  Home.  (See 
“The  Cotter’s  Saturday  Night,”  by  Burns.) 

Putting  the:  Truths  or  thr  Lrsson  Into  Practice: 

Dramatize  some  scene  such  as  “An  Evening  in  a 
Christian  Home.”  This  may  be  done  with,  or  without 
spoken  words.  The  father  comes  home  at  night.  His 
little  daughter  brings  him  his  slippers  and  his  newspaper. 
The  children  tiptoe  about  the  cradle  to  avoid  waking  the 
baby.  They  sit  down  to  the  evening  meal,  heads  bowed 
in  thanksgiving.  Children  help  mother  with  dishwash¬ 
ing.  Father  and  little  sons  play  games  on  the  floor. 
Family  worship. 

Organize  the  girls  of  the  class  as  “Sunday-School 
Mammas”  to  care  for  the  little  children,  each  girl  to  be 
responsible  for  one  child,  seeing  that  it  comes  regularly, 
understands  lessons,  gets  home  safely.  Organize  similar 
groups  with  boys. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  EARLY  CHURCH  IN  ITS  BATTLE 

WITH  EVIL 

WEEK  DAY  SESSION 

“THE  GATES  OF  HADES  SHALL  NOT  PREVAIL 

AGAINST  IT” 

Matt  16:13-20;  Acts  8:1-4;  12:1-4 

We  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter  that  the  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Early  Church  were  a  contented  and  happy 
group  of  people.  We  must  not  conclude,  however,  that 
they  had  no  hardships  and  trials.  Their  periods  of  un¬ 
molested  living  were  brief.  The  Church  from  the  very 
first  grappled  with  some  enormous  and  organized  evils 
and  the  conflict  with  each  of  these  evils  was  long  and 
intense,  for  it  was  a  warfare  in  which  there  could  be  no 
truce  or  compromise. 

The  Firm  Promise  of  Jesus.  Matt.  16:18.  One  day 
on  the  slopes  of  Mount  Hermon  Jesus  asked  his  dis¬ 
ciples  a  question  of  utmost  importance.  He  said  to  them, 
“Who  say  ye  that  I  am?”  Peter  replied  for  the  Twelve, 
“Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.”  Jesus 
was  made  glad  by  the  answer  for  he  knew  that  faith  in 
him  as  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world  was 
a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  disciples,  the 
one  thing  which  would  keep  them  true  to  the  great  task 
for  which  he  had  been  preparing  them.  He  knew  that 
faith  in  him  as  God’s  Son  was  the  great  essential  for  a 
Church  which  should  endure  when  it  came  into  conflict 
with  the  mighty  forces  of  evil  which  were  so  dominant 
in  the  world.  This  is  what  he  meant  when  he  said, 
“Upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  church;  and  the  gates 
of  Hades  shall  not  prevail  against  it.”  The  “gates  of 
Hades”  means  all  the  forces  of  evil  and  destruction. 
Jesus  meant  that  a  Church  which  believed  in  him  as  the 
Son  of  God  could  never  be  destroyed.  The  truth  of  his 
words  is  shown  in  the  early  days  of  the  Christian  Church 
and  in  all  the  centuries  of  its  existence. 


262 


■i-  ;■  ''*4  ■'*  /-  .<.v--  •  ■  ■-'■V:>i#i;r.'r  V.':  •  - 

fesv:: '  '  ■■'>■'•  ■•;.->)■-  -  'j, 

E5. 4^  .  -■  ■"'''  ■  J^^..  •• 


■  ■'  y^.  '■  -'vG* 

*L  y  K 

- 


*»  •  i*'  j»  .,-^  -•  *  ^  fc  '  ^ 

*  -I-  y-t ->4  ‘  ^  ,  • 

:.4  *'  f  --  -5W^- ■  '.''■■■ 

•■  •  '  y  _  ‘  '!>  ; 

.'  -  ■  ■■ 


*  t  r  •  * 


DIANA  OR  CHRIST 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  263 


Early  Persecutions  by  the  Jewish  Leaders.  Acts  4:1-22. 
It  was  only  a  few  weeks  after  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus 
that  the  apostles  began  to  preach  boldly  that  Jesus  had 
risen  from  the  dead  and  that  he  was  the  Son  of  God  and 
the  Messiah.  The  Jewish  leaders  made  an  attempt  to 
silence  the  apostles,  as  we  might  expect  them  to  have 
done.  Some  of  the  disciples  were  seized,  brought  before 
the  sanhedrin,  threatened,  beaten,  and  imprisoned.  The 
leaders,  however,  manifested  little  of  that  fierce  deter¬ 
mination  with  which  they  had  pursued  Jesus.  We  are 
conscious  as  we  read  the  narratives  that  they  were  hesi¬ 
tating  and  timid  in  their  efforts  to  silence  the  disciples. 
This  is  surprising  when  we  remember  that  the  same 
group  of  men  who  had  secured  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus 
was  now  trying  to  suppress  the  disciples.  Annas  and 
Caiaphas  were  the  leaders  in  this  movement  against  the 
followers  of  Jesus  as  they  had  been  the  leaders  in  the 
plots  against  Jesus  himself.  Why  did  not  these  leaders 
forthwith  exterminate  the  little  band  of  disciples?  It 
was  not  due  to  any  failure  to  understand  the  significance 
of  the  gospel  message  preached  by  the  disciples,  for  they 
spoke  the  message  boldly.  It  was  not  due  to  any  in¬ 
ability  on  their  part  to  understand  what  it  meant  for 
them  if  many  people  came  to  believe  in  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus.  They  had  told  Pilate,  on  the  evening  of  the 
crucifixion,  that  if  people  were  led  to  believe  that  Jesus 
had  risen,  “the  last  error”  would  be  “worse  than  the 
first.”  Their  conduct  indicates  that  the  events  which 
accompanied  the  death  of  Jesus,  the  darkness  and  the 
earthquake,  and  the  evidences  that  he  had,  indeed,  risen, 
caused  these  bad  men  to  hesitate  and  lose  their  bravado. 

The  Persecution  Which  Followed  the  Death  of 
Stephen.  Acts  8:1-3.  The  timid  and  half-hearted  efforts 
of  Annas  and  Caiaphas,  however,  soon  gave  way  to  a 
fearfully  severe  persecution  of  the  Christians  under  a 
new  leader.  The  Jews  were  roused  to  a  frenzy  of  rage 
and  apprehension  by  the  bold  preaching  of  Stephen. 
Having  stoned  Stephen  to  death,  they  turned  furiously 
against  the  rest  of  the  Christians.  A  young  man  named 
Saul  came  forward  as  the  leader  of  the  persecution,  and 
he  pursued  his  task  with  great  vigor.  He  spared  neither 


264  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


men  nor  women.  Invading  the  homes  of  the  Christians 
he  dragged  them  away  to  prison.  When  the  Christians 
were  brought  to  trial,  Saul  saw  to  it  that  the  cases  were 
vigorously  prosecuted  and  he  secured  a  death  penalty 
whenever  he  could. 

This  persecution  resulted  in  a  distinct  advantage  to 
the  Church.  The  Christians  were  driven  in  large  num¬ 
bers  from  Jerusalem  into  the  outskirts  of  Judea  and  into 
Samaria,  and  even  into  more  distant  regions.  They  car¬ 
ried  their  faith  with  them  and  wherever  they  went  they 
preached  that  Jesus  was  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  In¬ 
stead  of  extinguishing  Christianity,  the  persecution  scat¬ 
tered  it  broadcast  over  all  Palestine  and  the  neighboring 
regions. 

Local  Persecutions  Growing  Out  of  Various  Causes. 
Acts  12:1-4;  16:16-24;  19:23-41.  The  apostle  James  lost 
his  life*  in  a  brief  persecution  instigated  by  Herod 
Agrippa.  This  crafty  ruler  saw  that  by  persecuting  the 
Christians  he  could  curry  favor  with  the  Jewish  leaders. 
Being  in  need  of  such  support,  he  seized  the  disciple 
James  and  had  him  put  to  death.  He  likewise  laid 
hold  on  Peter,  intending  to  put  him  to  death  after 
the  passover.  This  persecution  was  cut  short  by 
the  untimely  death  of  the  wicked  king. 

Paul  and  Silas  were  flogged  and  imprisoned  in  Phi¬ 
lippi,  not  because  of  their  Christian  teachings  primarily, 
but  because  in  healing  a  demoniac  girl  they  had  taken 
away  the  profits  which  her  masters  derived  from  em¬ 
ploying  the  girl  as  a  fortune  teller.  The  Philippians 
were  able  to  raise  a  mob  by  stirring  up  the  race  hatred 
which  the  Gentiles  felt  toward  the  Jews. 

When  Paul  was  preaching  in  Ephesus  and  meeting 
Avith  great  success,  a  persecution  of  the  Christians  broke 
out  which  had  its  origin  in  circumstances  similar  to  those 
which  had  led  to  the  persecution  in  Philippi.  There  was 
a  great  temple  to  Diana  in  Ephesus  and  a  considerable 
proportion  of  the  population  made  their  living  by  making 
little  images  of  the  goddess  out  of  silver  or  copper. 
These  were  sold  to  multitudes  of  travelers  who  came  to 
see  the  magnificent  temple  of  Diana  and  to  worship  at 
the  feet  of  her  colossal  statue  contained  therein.  There 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  265 


was  a  certain  man  named  Demetrius  who  saw  that  the 
spread  of  Christianity  meant  a  decreased  sale  of  Diana 
images.  He  stirred  up  his  fellow  workmen  and  a  riot 
ensued.  Believing  that  his  continued  presence  in  the 
city  would  only  make  matters  worse  and  endanger  his 
fellow  Christians  among  the  citizens  of  Ephesus,  Paul 
left  the  city. 

The  Awful  Persecutions  by  the  Romans.  The  time 
came  when  the  Christian  Church  was  face  to  face 
with  a  persecution  more  severe  and  far  reaching  than 
any  we  have  mentioned.  In  the  early  persecutions 
the  Roman  authorities  were  often  the  protectors  of  the 
Christians  against  their  enemies.  As  Christianity  spread 
through  the  Roman  Empire,  the  Roman  authorities  came 
to  understand  that  this  new  religion  was  no  mere  sect  of 
the  Jewish  religion,  but  that  it  was  a  powerful  force 
destined  to  change  the  institutions  of  Rome  itself,  unless 
it  could  be  destroyed.  Divine  honors  were  paid  to  the 
Roman  Caesars,  but  the  Christians  refused  to  pay  such 
homage  to  any  man.  So  the  Roman  Government,  the 
empire  which  had  conquered  the  known  world  and  had 
ruled  it  for  centuries,  laid  plans  utterly  to  destroy  the 
Christian  Church.  It  is  only  here  and  there  in  the  New 
Testament  that  these  dreadful  persecutions  by  the  Ro¬ 
mans  are  mentioned.  During  the  persecution  under  the 
Roman  Emperor,  Nero,  Paul  was  put  to  death  in  Rome. 
It  is  thought  that  most  of  the  other  disciples  gave  up 
their  lives  for  the  cause  of  Christ  in  some  of  these  Roman 
persecutions. 

Nkro’s  Human  Torches 

The  Emperor  Nero  was  a  monster  in  his  iniquity. 
Tradition  says  that  for  the  sake  of  seeing  a  great  city 
on  fire  he  caused  the  larger  part  of  Rome  to  be  con¬ 
sumed  by  a  great  conflagration.  While  the  city  burned, 
he  watched  it  from  afar  and  sought  to  compose  a  poem 
on  the  burning  of  Troy  under  the  inspiration  of  the  burn¬ 
ing  capital  of  the  world.  Alarmed  at  the  indignation 
aroused  by  the  burning  of  Rome,  Nero  sought  to  lay 
the  blame  on  the  Christians.  The  followers  of  Jesus 
were  weak  in  numbers  compared  with  other  groups 


266  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


within  the  empire.  They  were  hated  and  despised  by 
both  Romans  and  other  Gentiles  and  by  the  Jews.  So 
the  wicked  and  crafty  emperor  saw  a  chance  to  lay  on 
the  Christians  the  blame  for  his  own  misdeeds. 

Nero  proclaimed  a  universal  persecution  of  the  Chris¬ 
tians.  In  all  the  vast  stretches  of  the  empire  they  were 
to  be  hunted  down  like  wild  beasts  and  destroyed.  In 
Rome  they  were  thrown  into  the  arena  to  be  devoured 
by  wild  beasts.  Many  were  incased  in  oiled  wrappers 
and  lifted  on  high  poles  where  they  v/ere  burned  as 
torches  to  light  Nero’s  gardens  at  night.  The  gates  of 
death  and  destruction  were  swung  wide  open  against  the 
Church  which  Jesus  had  founded  in  the  earth,  but  they 
did  not  prevail  against  it. 


SUNDAY  SESSION 

THE  CHURCH  MENACED  BY  EVILS  FROM  WITHIN 
Acts  5:1-11;  6:1-6;  15:1-29;  III  John  9-11 

In  his  oration  against  Catiline,  Cicero  has  an  eloquent 
passage  in  which  he  speaks  of  the  dangers  which  menace 
the  Roman  state.  He  tells  the  senators  that  in  so  far  as 
foreign  foes  are  concerned,  Rome  has  nothing  to  fear, 
that  all  the  barbarian  nations  on  the  outskirts  of  Rome’s 
vast  territory  could  not  break  the  power  of  the  city 
which  had  become  mistress  of  the  world.  But  he  de¬ 
clares  that  there  is  a  real  menace  to  Rome,  and  that  it 
lies  within  her  own  borders,  within  the  very  walls  of  the 
city  itself.  It  was  so  with  the  Christian  Church,  in  the 
early  centuries,  and  it  is  so  with  the  Church  to-day.  All 
the  forces  of  evil  can  never  overthrow  the  Church  of 
Christ,  nor  can  they  permanently  hinder  its  progress. 
But  when  evils  spring  up  within  the  Church  itself,  it  is 
a  different  matter.  We  are  to  learn  in  this  lesson  of 
some  of  the  evils  which  found  an  early  entrance  into  the 
Church  and  with  which  the  disciples  and  other  Christians 
of  that  day  had  to  grapple. 

A  Severe  Rebuke  to  Hypocrisy.  Acts  5:1-11.  Hypoc¬ 
risy  was  the  besetting  sin  of  the  Pharisees.  Jesus  had 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  267 


given  his  disciples  especial  warning  against  this  evil, 
when  he  told  them  to  beware  of  “the  leaven  of  the 
Pharisees.”  Yet  this  sin  of  hypocrisy  was  one  of  the 
first  evils  to  find  its  way  into  the  company  of  Christians. 
Many  of  the  followers  of  Jesus  were  selling  their  prop¬ 
erty  and  bringing  the  money  to  the  disciples  that  it  might 
be  used  for  the  relief  of  distress  among  the  Christians. 
A  certain  man  named  Ananias  and  his  wife,  Sapphira, 
saw  what  the  others  were  doing  and  they  knew  that  the 
company  of  Christians  looked  with  favor  on  such  mani¬ 
festations  of  generosity.  So  they  conspired  to  gain  the 
favor  of  their  fellow  Church  members  without  giving 
up  all  of  their  possessions.  They  told  the  disciples  that 
they  had  brought  all  the  money  they  received  from  the 
sale  of  some  land,  when,  in  fact,  they  had  kept  back  a 
portion  of  it  for  themselves.  The  punishment  which 
came  upon  these  two  because  they  had  lied  to  God  was 
swift.  It  may  seem  to  us  severe,  but  we  must  remember 
that  this  was  an  event  of  momentous  importance  to  the 
Church.  It  was  like  a  second  fall  of  man.  If  the  spirit 
of  deceit  and  hypocrisy  should  have  become  general  in 
the  Church  at  that  time,  it  would  have  meant  the 
destruction  of  the  cause  of  Christ. 

Jealousy  and  Race  Prejudice  Cause  Threatened  Divi¬ 
sions.  Acts  6:1-6. 

It  is  the  goal  of  Christianity  to  do  away  with  all 
enmity  and  prejudice  which  spring  from  the  fact  that 
peoples  speak  languages  which  differ  one  from  the  other, 
but  the  goal  of  the  Christian  religion  is  not  always  at¬ 
tained  at  once,  and  even  when  once  attained  it  is  not 
always  maintained  consistently  and  permanently.  On 
the  day  of  Pentecost  the  different  types  of  Jews  who  had 
become  Christians  were  molded  into  one  brotherhood 
by  a  new  and  profound  religious  experience.  As  time 
passed,  however,  the  Palestinian  Jews  and  the  Grecian 
Jews  found  that  they  were  still  very  unlike  in  some  re¬ 
spects.  Old  dislikes  began  to  grow  again.  The  Grecian 
Jews  began  to  say  among  themselves  that  the  funds 
which  belonged  to  the  Church  were  not  fairly  distrib¬ 
uted,  that  their  widows  were  not  receiving  so  large  a 
share  as  the  widows  among  the  Palestinian  Jews.  Such 


268  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


misunderstandings  are  very  apt  to  arise  with  regard  to 
money  matters.  The  plan  of  having  all  things  common 
was  one  which  would  not  work  unless  there  was  a  very 
large  and  permanent  sense  of  brotherhood  among  the 
Christians.  We  have  already  seen  how  ably  the  apostles 
handled  this  delicate  problem.  The  incident  shows  us 
how  careful  we  ought  to  be  in  carrying  on  the  work  of 
the  Church,  especially  in  matters  which  have  to  do  with 
money. 

A  Great  Controversy  Which  Threatened  to  Wreck  the 
Early  Church.  Acts  15:1-29. 

The  unity  of  the  Church  was  menaced  in  its  early 
years  by  a  controversy  about  the  conditions  under  which 
Gentiles  might  become  Christians.  Most  of  the  Jews 
who  had*  become  Christians  held  that  Gentiles  who 
wished  to  become  Christians  must  keep  the  Jewish  laws 
regarding  certain  religious  ceremonials.  In  effect  they 
required  the  Gentiles  to  become  Jewish  proselytes  before 
they  should  be  admitted  to  the  fellowship  of  the  Chris¬ 
tian  Church.  There  were  some  Christians  who  did  not 
believe  that  anything  besides  a  faith  in  Jesus  as  God’s 
Son  ought  to  be  required  of  Gentile  converts.  The  mat¬ 
ter  under  dispute  was  indeed  of  utmost  importance.  If 
the  narrow  interpretation  should  prevail,  it  meant  that 
Christianity  was  only  a  type  of  the  Jewish  religion.  If 
the  wider  interpretation  should  prevail,  it  meant  that 
Christianity  was  a  new  religion  fitted  to  become  world¬ 
wide  in  its  dominion  over  the  hearts  and  minds  of  men. 
Jesus  had  foreseen  this  problem  and  had  warned  his  fol¬ 
lowers  against  trying  to  put  the  new  wine  of  his  teach¬ 
ings  into  the  old  wine  skins  of  the  Jewish  forms  and 
rituals.  He  had  told  them  that  his  religion  was  to  be 
something  more  than  a  new  patch  on  an  old  garment. 
The  story  of  the  great  conference  held  at  Jerusalem  to 
settle  this  question  is  interestingly  told  in  the  fifteenth 
chapter  of  The  Acts. 

Unworthy  Personal  Ambitions  Lead  to  Divisions  and 
to  False  Teachings.  Ill  John  9-11.  The  Apostle  John, 
in  one  of  his  letters  to  a  friend,  says  some  plain  things 
about  a  certain  man  named  Diotrephes.  This  Diotrephes 
was  a  man  selfishly  and  unworthily  ambitious.  John 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  269 


says  that  he  loved  “to  have  the  preeminence.”  The  goal 
of  Diotrephes  was  not  to  exalt  Jesus  and  to  help  estab¬ 
lish  his  Kingdom  in  the  world,  but  to  gain  for  himself 
a  place  of  prominence.  When  a  person  of  this  type  of 
character  gets  into  a  church,  there  is  no  end  of  trouble. 
Such  persons  have  been  responsible  for  many  of  the 
divisions  of  the  Church.  The  kind  of  egotism  which 
Diotrephes  possessed  has  been  the  real  source  of  many 
disastrous  errors  which  have  hindered  the  advance  of 
Christ’s  Kingdom.  John  was  a  Christian  of  wonderful 
tenderness,  but  he  grows  stern  as  he  thinks  of  this 
trouble  maker  in  a  distant  city  who  is  dividing  a  church 
into  opposing  factions  and  defeating  the  cause  for  which 
Jesus  gave  up  his  life;  and  all  because  he  cannot  be  the 
big  man  of  the  church  and  have  his  own  way  all  the 
time.  Have  you  ever  seen  a  Diotrephes  in  a  church  or 
in  a  young  people’s  organization? 

The  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches.  Rev.,  chs.  2,  3. 
We  can  learn  a  great  deal  about  the  internal  dangers 
which  menaced  the  Early  Church  by  reading  what  is 
said  to  the  seven  churches  in  the  early  chapters  of 
Revelation.  Some  of  these  churches  had  left  their  “first 
love,”  that  is  they  had  lost  the  glow  of  enthusiasm  under 
the  inspiration  of  which  they  had  been  organized.  Some 
were  disturbed  by  false  teachings.  Some  had  fallen 
back  into  pagan  ways  of  life.  At  least  one  of  the 
seven  was  a  church  of  wealthy  people  which  had 
become  self-satisfied  and  lukewarm.  It  had  lost  the 
spirit  of  service.  These  dangers  which  menaced  the 
Early  Church  are  to  be  found  within  the  Church  of  our 
own  day.  That  is  why  the  New  Testament  is  still  the 
best  guide  for  those  who  have  banded  themselves  to¬ 
gether  to  establish  Christ’s  Kingdom  in  all  the  earth. 

Phiup  Schuyi^er  and  Benedict  Arnold 

The  difference  between  loyalty  to  a  great  cause  and 
disloyalty  to  it  is  strikingly  manifest  in  the  lives  of  two 
American  generals  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  General 
Philip  Schuyler  was  in  charge  of  the  American  forces 
which  were  resisting  General  Burgoyne  as  he  marched 
south  from  Canada  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain.  The 


270  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS 


American  army  was  small  and  could  not  at  first  hope  to 
meet  the  strong  British  force  in  open  battle.  General 
Schuyler  hindered  the  march  of  the  British  by  attacking 
any  detached  force  and  by  destroying  the  roads  and 
bridges.  As  the  conflict  went  on,  the  American  army 
grew  stronger  through  the  arrival  of  new  troops.  The 
position  of  the  British  grew  more  difficult  as  the  distance 
from  their  base  of  supplies  grew  longer  and  they  failed 
to  win  a  decisive  victory.  General  Schuyler  saw  that 
the  time  was  coming  for  a  decisive  effort.  He  laid  his 
plans  carefully  and  with  tireless  energy  gathered  every 
possible  force  for  the  conflict.  The  night  before  the  day 
set  for  the  supreme  effort  of  the  Americans,  messengers 
from  the  Continental  Congress  came  into  General 
Schuyler’s  tent  and  told  him  that  he  was  relieved  of  the 
command  of  the  American  forces. 

The  motive  lying  back  of  the  dismissal  of  General 
Schuyler  was  largely  jealousy  on  the  part  of  certain 
officers  who  thought  that  they  ought  to  be  in  command 
and  who  had  influence  in  Congress.  General  Schuyler 
Avas  disappointed,  of  course,  but  he  was  too  much  in¬ 
terested  in  the  success  of  the  American  cause  to  be  dis¬ 
loyal,  even  though  he  had  suffered  injustice.  He  imme¬ 
diately  laid  all  his  plans  before  his  successor  and  prom¬ 
ised  him  every  possible  aid.  The  battle  was  won  and 
the  victory  was  due  to  the  plans  and  labors  of  General 
Schuyler,  but  another  officer  gained  the  credit  for  the 
victory. 

It  was  not  very  long  after  this  that  another  American 
general,  Benedict  Arnold,  was  deprived  of  his  command 
in  much  the  same  way.  General  Arnold  at  once  began 
to  plan  for  revenge.  He  entered  into  communication 
Avith  the  British.  Having  secured  the  command  of  West 
Point,  he  agreed  with  the  British  to  surrender  it.  When 
his  plots  were  discovered,  he  went  over  to  the  British 
side  and  fought  against  his  fellow  countrymen  in  a  most 
brutal  way,  burning  and  destroying  property  and  putting 
to  death  Americans  who  had  surrendered  under  promise 
of  protection.  General  Arnold’s  life  was  so  self-centered 
that  he  was  not  capable  of  that  high  kind  of  loyalty 
Avhich  General  Schuyler  manifested. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLEOWERS  OF  JESUS  271 


Thk  Li:sson  Prayer 

Teach  us,  our  Father  in  heaven,  to  understand  the 
lessons  we  have  studied  in  this  book.  Give  us  a  sense 
of  gratitude  to  thee  for  all  the  blessings  thou  hast  given 
us  through  the  Church.  Help  us  to  be  loyal  to  thee  and 
to  Jesus  thy  Son.  Hasten  the  day  when  all  the  earth 
shall  know  the  truth  as  it  is  revealed  in  the  Bible.  We 
would  do  our  part  in  bringing  to  pass  the  day  of  broth¬ 
erhood  for  all  races  and  peoples.  Give  us  patience  and 
perseverance  in  the  tasks  of  to-day  that  we  may  be  ready 
for  greater  tasks  to-morrow.  We  ask  for  Jesus’  sake. 
Amen. 

The;  Eksson  Hymn 

“Sunset  and  Evening  Star.”  “Studies  of  Familiar 
Hymns,”  page  263. 

EXPRESSIONAL  SESSION 

WHAT  IT  MEANS  TO  BE  A  EOYAE  CHURCH 

MEMBER 

H  Tim.  2:15;  I  Cor.  16:2;  Jude  3 

In  order  that  the  Church  may  accomplish  its  mission. 
Church  members  must  have  the  kind  of  loyalty  which 
General  Schuyler  manifested.  A  Church  member  ought 
to  be  so  loyal  to  the  cause  of  Christ  that  even  unjust 
removal  from  a  place  of  responsibility  and  prominence 
would  make  no  difference  in  his  devotion  to  the  cause 
for  which  the  Church  is  contending.  A  genuine  Igyalty 
to  the  Church  will  manifest  itself  in  the  life  of  the  Church 
member  by  certain  well-nigh  infallible  signs. 

1.  A  Diligent  Worker.  H  Tim.  2:15.  Those  mem¬ 
bers  of  a  Church  which  are  busy  with  the  tasks  of  .  the 
Church  are  usually  the  most  loyal  people  in  the  organi¬ 
zation.  Selfish  people  like  Diotrephes  may  be  very  busy 
for  a  time  in  the  affairs  of  the  Church,  but  sooner  or  later 
something  happens  which  is  in  the  nature  of  a  test  and 
they  drop  everything  forthwith.  Those  who  really  pre¬ 
sent  themselves  “approved  unto  God,”  and  who  are  work¬ 
men  who  need  not  be  ashamed,  are  filled  with  a  spirit  of 
loyalty  to  Jesus  and  to  his  Church. 


272  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


2.  A  Generous  Giver.  I  Cor.  16:2.  A  loyal  citizen 
of  any  nation  will  not  refuse  to  pay  his  rightful  share 
of  the  taxes  necessary  for  the  support  of  the  nation. 
Money  has  been  called  ‘The  acid  test”  of  religion  and  it 
reveals  nothing  more  clearly  than  the  fundamental  loy¬ 
alty  or  disloyalty  of  the  professed  follower  of  Christ. 
Anyone  who  will  not  give  as  liberally  as  possible  for  the 
upbuilding  of  the  Church,  and  for  the  relief  of  those  in 
distress,  is  wanting  in  loyalty  to  Christ  and  his  cause. 

3.  A  Courageous  Defender.  Jude  3.  It  took  great 
courage  and  genuine  loyalty  to  be  a  first-century  Chris¬ 
tian.  The  quality  of  courage  is  still  needed  if  one  is  to 
be  a  worth-while  Christian.  A  deep  loyalty  to  Christ 
and  his  Church  will  help  to  give  a  professed  Christian 
the  courage  to  speak  in  defense  of  the  Church  in  any 
company  where  it  is  maligned. 

Some:  Truths  from  the  Lessons  We  Have  Been 

Studying 

Loyalty  is  an  element  in  the  rock  on  which  Jesus  has 
built  the  unconquerable  Church.  There  was  deep  loyalty 
in  Peter’s  noble  words,  “Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  living  God.” 

Loyalty  gives  courageous  strength  of  character.  It 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  characteristics  of  those 
early  Christians  who  endured  such  bitter  persecutions. 

The  Jewish  leaders  claimed  to  be  very  loyal  to  Moses 
and  his  teachings.  In  reality,  they  were  too  selfish  to  be 
truly  loyal  to  anyone  but  themselves. 

Demetrius  and  his  craftsmen  pretended  to  be  very 
loyal  to  Diana  when  they  were  really  only  afraid  that 
Christianity  would  interfere  with  their  profits.  Selfish¬ 
ness  often  parades  under  the  guise  of  loyalty. 

The  Christians  were  accused  of  disloyalty  to  Rome 
because  they  refused  to  worship  Caesar.  They  refused 
to  worship  Caesar  because  they  were  loyal  to  Christ. 

Ananias  and  Sapphira  were  disloyal  to  the  Church 
when  they  tried  to  deceive  the  apostles  and  gain  a  popu¬ 
larity  which  they  had  not  earned. 


NEW  TESTAMENT  FOLLOWERS  OF  JESUS  273 


The  Council  of  Jerusalem  was  able  to  settle  a  grave 
dispute  because  most  of  the  early  Christians  were  loyal 
to  Jesus,  however  they  might  differ  with  one  another. 
Diotrephes  was  so  selfish  that  he  was  disloyal  to  the 
disciples,  to  the  Church,  and  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 

Review  Questions 

1.  What  two  types  of  danger  menaced  the  early 
Church  ? 

2.  What  did  Jesus  mean  when  he  said,  “Upon  this 
rock  I  will  build  my  church”? 

3.  Tell  of  the  early  persecutions  of  the  Christians. 

4.  Why  did  not  Caiaphas  and  Annas  destroy  all  the 
disciples  of  Jesus  and  so  bring  the  Christian  religion  to 
an  end? 

5.  Name  some  of  the  causes  which  led  to  some  of  the 
briefer  persecutions. 

6.  Tell  of  the  persecutions  under  the  Romans. 

7.  What  dangers  menaced  the  Early  Church  from 
within  its  own  membership? 

8.  Tell  of  the  council  of  Jerusalem  and  its  decisions. 

9.  What  was  the  condition  of  the  Early  Church  as 
revealed  in  the  early  chapters  of  Revelation? 

10.  What  lessons  concerning  loyalty  do  you  learn 
from  the  story  about  Philip  Schuyler  and  Benedict 
Arnold  ? 

Bibte  Verses 

Ruth  1 :16,  17;  Mark  8:34;  Luke  14:26;  Rom.  1:16,  31 
(“covenant-breakers”  means  in  the  Greek,  “without  loy¬ 
alty”)  ;  I  Cor.  10:32;  11:22;  15:9;  Col.  1 :18;  Eph.  5:25-27. 

Study  Topics 

t 

1.  Ruth’s  Loyalty  to  Her  Mother-in-Law.  Ruth, 
ch.  1. 

2.  Paul’s  Loyalties.  I.  To  His  Native  City.  Acts 
21 :39.  H.  To  His  Friends.  Rom.,  ch.  16.  HI.  To 
Christ.  I  Cor.  2 :2. 

3.  Loyalty  to  Christ  and  the  Church  as  a  Test  of 
True  Discipleship.  John  6:60-71. 


274  NEW  TESTAMENT  FOEEOWERS  OF  JESUS 


4.  Ways  in  Which  We  Can  Show  Our  Loyalty  to  the 
Church. 

5.  A  Study  of  the  Third  Epistle  of  John.  (Compare 
the  characteristics  of  the  three  men  mentioned,  Gains, 
Diotrephes,  and  Demetrius,  with  a  view  to  showing  the 
difference  in  loyalty  which  each  manifested.) 

6.  Jude’s  Condemnation  of  Disloyal  Church  Mem¬ 
bers  in  His  Day.  Jude  11-13. 

7.  Why  Loyalty  Is  So  Important  in  the  Nation  and 
in  the  Church. 

8.  Ways  in  Which  Intermediate  Pupils  Can  Show 
Their  Loyalty  to  the  Pastor  of  the  Church. 

9.  Ways  in  Which  Intermediate  Pupils  Can  Help 
Develop  Loyalty  to  the  Church  School. 

10.  The  Folly  of  Trying  to  Maintain  a  Divided 
Loyalty.  Matt.  6:19-24. 

Putting  th^  Truths  of  thf  Lfsson  Into  Practice 

Suggested  pledge  of  loyalty  to  be  signed  by  the  pupils 
of  the  class : 

“We  pledge  our  loyal  support  to  Jesus  Christ  and  his 
Church.  We  will  seek  to  manifest  our  loyalty  to  Christ 
and  his  Church  by  diligence  in  the  tasks  which  are 
assigned  to  us  and  by  giving  as  largely  as  we  can  for 
the  building  of  Christ’s  Kingdom  in  the  world.  We 
pledge  our  loyal  support  to  the  pastor  of  our  church. 
We  will  assist  him  all  we  can  in  the  work  which  he  is 
carrying  on  as  God’s  minister  to  the  church  and  congre¬ 
gation.  We  pledge  our  loyalty  to  the  church  school  and 
to  all  its  officers  and  teachers.  We  will  do  all  that  we 
can  to  help  make  the  school  a  success  and  to  bring  others 
into  its  membership.” 


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